US EditionIsrael and Max Makoka Are Coming Home After ICE Arrests Galvanized Their Mississippi Community
ICE says the brothers violated student visas and are subject to removal after missing classes at Piney Woods School, officials said.
- On April 21, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained brothers Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, at a bus stop in Diamondhead, Mississippi; the teens were released recently following intervention by U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
- The detention stemmed from a lapse in the brothers' F-1 student visas after they transferred from Piney Woods Country Life School in Rankin County to Hancock High School, which was not authorized to host students on such visas.
- More than 3,100 residents signed a petition urging their release, while immigration attorney Jeremy Litton of Elmore Litton Law Firm said the arrests are "heartbreaking" and criticized targeting "two kids at a bus stop."
- Now reunited with guardians Gail and Cliff Baptiste, the brothers face a legal battle to reinstate their F-1 status; attorney Amy Maldonado plans to file applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- The incident highlighted aggressive immigration enforcement's impact on local communities, with educators and residents in Hancock County characterizing the students as beloved members who should not face deportation.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Associated Press News
Israel and Max Makoka Are Coming Home After ICE Arrests Galvanized Their Mississippi Community
Israel and Max Makoka are coming home. Just over a week has passed since ICE detained the brothers while they were waiting for their bus to Hancock High School outside their Diamondhead, Mississippi, home on April 21 and separated them across two other states.
Top Republicans speak out after Mississippi Gulf Coast brothers detained, separated by ICE
Mike Ezell and Cindy Hyde-Smith, two top U.S. lawmakers in Congress, say they are trying to monitor the situation after Israel and Max Makoka were taken from their bus stop by ICE in Diamondhead on the Gulf Coast.
Immigration attorney weighs in on detention of Hancock High brothers by ICE
MISSISSPPI. (WLBT) – An immigration attorney said he was shocked after learning about the ICE detention of two Hancock High School brothers from the Republic of the Congo. 18-year-old Israel Makoka and his 15-year-old brother, Max Makoka, were detained by ICE nine days ago at a bus stop in Diamondhead. ICE officials said the brothers violated their student visas by switching from Piney Woods School in Rankin County to Hancock High School in Kiln…
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