Two teenage brothers from the Republic of Congo were living their version of the American dream. He was the leader of his high school basketball team and was involved in his local church. The elder was a few weeks away from graduation.
That dream turned into turmoil this month when the brothers were detained by ICE agents who were waiting outside their parents’ home in Diamondhead Miss Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, were leaving to take a bus to school when they were arrested and later taken to separate facilities in Louisiana and Texas, where they remained Wednesday.
His detention has crushed the school community in their conservative small town.
“I’m very saddened by what’s happening,” said Stacey Campbell, a history teacher at Brothers’ school, Hancock High in Kiln, Miss., who knows Makokas. “They definitely don’t deserve this. Some students are just starting to talk about it, and they’re very concerned. They want their classmates back in school.”
The Macoka brothers entered the United States legally on F-1 student visas to attend Piney Woods School, a historically black boarding institution. But last year he felt unhappy there, so he transferred to a public school next door to his host family.
Before the teens transferred to Hancock High in August, a local attorney advised their host family to become their legal guardians so they could remain in the country. A judge granted the guardianship request.
Amy Maldonado, an immigration attorney representing the brothers, said Piney Woods staff did not warn the family that transferring the teenagers to a public school would affect their immigration status regardless of guardianship.
One of their parents, Gail Baptiste, said that despite doing what they could to obey the law, no one knew until the teens’ arrest last week that moving from Piney Woods had voided their status. Hancock High was not allowed to host people on student visas, and the switch drew the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The brothers now face deportation.
“The children didn’t do anything – they didn’t do anything – and we didn’t do anything intentionally,” Ms Baptiste said. He later said, “We hope we’ll be given a chance to make it right for their sake.”
Ms. Baptiste recalled that when she tried to show her guardianship documents to immigration agents last week, one told her, “It’s worth nothing.” An officer also told him that someone had called and told him that there were two African children in Hancock.
Government documents indicate that the older brother, Israel, was targeted by ICE agents because government officials believed his student visa expired in 2024. She entered the United States in 2023 under an F-1 visa, a temporary student visa, as a minor. Mr Makoka recently became a legal adult – his birthday was in March.
His younger brother Max entered the country a year later under the same visa. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday evening that the brothers “violated their student visas by failing to attend classes at Piney Woods School.”
“They were given the opportunity to participate in the student exchange programme,” the statement said. “However, they failed to attend that school. Because they have violated their visa, they can be removed.”
Ms. Maldonado said she has submitted a motion to have Israel released on bond and will petition to have Max released to his guardians. He said on Wednesday that the brothers would reapply for F-1 status.
“In a situation like this, where everyone was trying to do the right thing, there is no need to handcuff kids and drag them away,” Ms. Maldonado said. He added, “These are kids who don’t need to be deported at the taxpayer’s expense. They just want to finish the school year.”
In its mass deportation campaign, the Trump administration has been particularly aggressive toward people in the United States on student visas. Last year, the administration sought to cancel more than a thousand student visas. In some cases international students were given no reason for cancellation, while in others minor violations were recorded.
Additionally, US authorities have arrested college students for attending pro-Palestinian protests, saying they undermine US foreign policy goals of reducing anti-Semitism.
Community leaders and teachers at Hancock High School said the brothers’ friends have expressed grief over their absence and students have become concerned for their well-being.
Boys basketball coach Connor Entriken said the Makoka brothers were good students who had a strong work ethic and commitment to their team and community. Within a short time of joining Hancock, he said, he had connected with and liked many other people.
Nothing spoke more about his character, he said, than when he joined in on required extra runs for teammates who had lost a drill in practice, even though the brothers were on their way to victory.
“Max and Israel really took charge to show that they were supporting them and then the team did it without being asked,” Mr Entriken said. “You won’t meet two better men, period.”
Kirsten Noyes Contributed to research.
