Makoka brothers from Congo are welcomed home to a conservative Mississippi community after ICE detention
By Rick Cleveland | Originally published by Mississippi Today
President Donald Trump carried coastal Mississippi’s Hancock County in the 2024 election by nearly a 4-to-1 margin. That doesn’t mean the county’s largely conservative citizenry supports everything about Trump’s ICE deportation policy.
In particular, Hancock Countians were appalled when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Israel and Max Makoka, Hancock High students from the Republic of Congo, as the teens waited for a school bus on April 21. Agents handcuffed and separated the brothers who have been in the U.S. more than two years, saying their student visas had expired. ICE sent Israel, who turned 18 in March, to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana. It sent 15-year-old Max into custody in Houston, Texas.
Largely due to an outpouring of support from Hancock Countians that clearly caught the attention of federal officials, Israel and Max were released last Thursday after a nine-day ordeal and are back with their host family in the Diamondhead community just north of Bay St. Louis.
“This isn’t a Democrat thing or a Republican thing. This is a human thing. So, let’s fix it,” said Hancock High history teacher Stacy Campbell, who taught Max and is close to both Makokas. “These are wonderful, intelligent young men, deep in their Christian faith. They’ve touched a lot of lives. They deserve the best.”
On Thursday, Campbell rode with Cliff and Gail Baptiste, the Makokas’ legal guardians, first to Jena to pick up Israel, then to Houston to pick up Max, then back home to Hancock County – a round trip of more than 18 hours.
On Friday, the Makokas were back in school at Hancock High where, Campbell says, teachers and fellow students were thrilled to welcome them home. Israel, a senior, received his cap and gown, which he will wear for graduation ceremonies on May 22. Both Makokas are A and B students beloved by classmates and teachers.
“You have to understand our students didn’t know if they were ever going to see their friends again,” said Campbell, who also said many of the Makokas’ classmates and teachers wrote letters to members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation.
Facing the public outcry, two Republican members of the delegation who generally support Trump and his immigration policies and are both up for reelection this year – Rep. Mike Ezell, whose district includes Hancock County, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has a statewide constituency – issued public statements saying they were trying to help the students while ensuring immigration laws are followed.
Israel Makoka, the older brother, said in a Saturday phone call with Mississippi Today, “We are just grateful for all the support people are showing.”
Said Max Makoka, “It is a blessing to be back. We are just so thankful to be back.”
Asked how he was treated during the nine days of detention, Israel Makoka, who still must wear an ankle monitor and wore it to school Friday, said, “I will just say that the way we were treated is not the way human beings should be treated.”
He did not expound, but conditions at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena are widely reported to be both punitive and inhumane.
“The boys don’t really want to talk about it,” said Gail Baptiste. “These are great kids who are loved so much. We’re just glad to have them home and safe. We’re taking in one day at a time, and we are moving in the right direction.”
The Baptistes, who moved to Diamondhead from New Orleans more than three decades ago, say they have helped more than 100 foreign students, mainly Africans, come to the U.S. for better opportunities for education. Gail Baptiste said the Makokas are the first foreign students to live with them.
Houston-based immigration lawyer Amy Maldonado is handling the Makokas’ legal situation and said the teenagers face a long, complicated, but doable process to renew their student visas. She said Max has a first hearing in early July in Baton Rouge. No initial court date has yet been set for Israel, but she expects that to take place in New Orleans.
The teenagers’ family can’t come to the United States to check on them because Trump put the Republic of Congo on a travel ban last July.
Maldonado said the Makokas’ legal problems stem from their transfer last summer from Piney Woods, a private boarding school in Rankin County south of Jackson, to the public Hancock High. The teens have been in the U.S. on F-1 student visas. Piney Woods is one of only a few Mississippi schools certified for students in the U.S. on F-1 visas. Hancock High is not. When the students transferred out of Piney Woods, their F-1 visas were no longer valid.
“The boys didn’t know and their host parents didn’t know. Hancock High didn’t know and nobody from Piney Woods advised them,” Maldonado said. “Basically, we’re going to clean up the mess.”
Piney Woods School said in a statement last week that it was “deeply troubled by the needlessly harsh seizure and ordeal experienced by Israel and Max Makoka” and “pleased to learn these brothers have been released from detention and reunited.”
“Offering international students the privilege of academic study requires meeting high administrative standards and specific federal designation,” the Piney Woods statement said. “We pray that the Makoka brothers and their family succeed in restoring their student visa status and can continue their academic pursuits in the U.S.”
Pearl River Community College, 40 miles from Diamondhead, will likely be where Israel lands, Maldonado said and Gail Baptiste confirmed. Saint Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis is the nearest high school that legally can accept students with F-1 visas. Gail Baptiste said Max would much prefer to remain at Hancock High where he loves his friends, teachers and coaches, but again she said, “We are taking it one day at a time.”
Both Makokas played basketball at Hancock, where Max – 6 feet, 3 inches tall – was a starter and his 6-foot older brother was a back-up point guard. Both were leaders, beloved by their teammates, Hancock coach Conner Entriken said. He said the Makokas were key players on a Hancock team that hosted a state playoff game for the first time in 44 years and played for the district championship for the first time in 15 years.
“You’d love to have a whole team of players like Israel and Max,” Entriken said. “These kids have never hurt anybody. They’ve never done anything wrong. They just came here to try to make better lives for themselves. They’ve made us a better team. They’ve made us a better school.”
Entriken said he constantly preached brotherhood to his team this past season. He said the brothers’ impact was immediate last summer. To stoke competition Entriken divided the team for an August scrimmage and told them the losing team would have to run sprints afterward. Israel and Max Makota were both on the winning team.
“When it came time for the losing team to run, Israel said if we were really going to be a brotherhood, the entire team needed to run together,” Entriken said. “He and Max got the winning team to the starting line and they all ran together. That was the way it was for the rest of the way. It really brought the team together. From then on, we had a connection that in my eight years as a coach I have not seen in a team.”
Entriken said he fervently hopes Max will be back on his team for the next school year but added, “I just want what’s best for him and Israel.”
Speaking before the brothers were released and their return to Hancock County, Entriken said, “The last time I texted with Max, he told me it was all in God’s hands. He’s 15 and I am 31, and I don’t know how I would handle the situation he is in. These two brothers are handling this whole deal with grace and maturity that are truly amazing.”
Mississippi Today reporters Simeon Gates and Katherine Lin contributed to this report.
This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Source: Original Article
