By James Bell
(Source: BIN)
UPDATE (Friday, May 1): Israel and Max Makoka were released from ICE custody on Thursday (April 30), according to their host mother, who spoke with WAPT News Jackson.
Two Black foreign exchange students living in Mississippi were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while waiting on the bus earlier this month.
Exchange students Israel and Max Makoka, brothers from the Republic of Congo, had been living with a local host family in the Gulf Coast for nearly two years, according to Mississippi Today.
The brothers recently joined the Hancock County High School basketball team after transferring from Piney Woods School, a historically Black boarding school that has accepted many foreign exchange students.
Officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly detained them on April 21 on allegations they violated their student visas, placing them in zip ties in front of their classmates while waiting for the bus.
“These kids have never hurt anybody. They’ve never done anything wrong,” Connor Entriken, the team’s coach, told the outlet on Wednesday (April 29). “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.”
Israel, 18, is being held at an ICE facility in Jena, Louisiana, while Max is in Houston, Texas, according to Entriken.
As a result of the travel ban put on the Republic of Congo by President Donald Trump in July, the brothers’ family is reportedly unable to come to the U.S. to check on either of them.
“ These are stellar kids. Educated, focused, know what they want to be already,” Cliff Baptiste, the brothers’ host father, told the Mississippi Free Press on Monday (April 27). “They’re good kids, man, and it’s sad that they have to go through this.”
The brothers had F-1 student visas, which allowed them to attend public high schools in the U.S., but Hancock High reportedly has limited experience handling student visas.
Angelina Vicknair, a spokesperson for ICE, shared in a statement that the Makoka brothers violated their student visas by failing to attend Piney Woods.
“They were granted the opportunity to participate in a student exchange program. However, they failed to attend that school,” she said. “Because they violated their visas, they are subject to removal.”
Republican Rep. Mike Ezell, whose district includes the Gulf Coast, said in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday (April 28) that his office is aware of the brothers’ situation and is “closely monitoring the situation.”
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also shared on X Wednesday that her office is working with the brothers’ guardians “toward the best possible solution within the law.”
