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ICE detained two Congolese teenage brothers on lawful student visas outside their Mississippi home

On April 21, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained brothers Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, nationals of the Republic of Congo, as the teenagers left their guardians' home in Diamondhead, Mississippi to catch the school bus. The brothers held F-1 student visas that had lapsed after they transferred from a private boarding school to a public high school that could not host visa holders; agents dismissed their guardians' court-granted guardianship papers and moved the teenagers to separate detention facilities in Louisiana and Texas. The Department of Homeland Security said the brothers had violated their visas by failing to attend classes at their original school.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Diamondhead, Mississippi

Abuses documented

Actors

On April 21, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, as the two brothers left their guardians' home in Diamondhead, Mississippi, to catch the bus to Hancock High School. The teenagers, nationals of the Republic of Congo, had entered the United States legally on F-1 student visas and were leaders on their high school basketball team, and the elder brother was weeks away from graduating. After the arrest, ICE moved them to separate detention facilities — Israel to an adult immigration facility in Louisiana and Max into custody in Texas — and placed both in deportation proceedings.

The brothers had originally come to attend the Piney Woods School, a prominent historically Black boarding institution, but transferred to a public high school near their host family after they were unhappy there. Before the transfer, a local lawyer advised the host family to seek legal guardianship so the teenagers could remain in the country, and a judge granted the request. According to their immigration lawyer, Piney Woods staff never warned the family that leaving the boarding school would nullify the teenagers' visa status because a public school cannot host F-1 visa holders — the change that drew ICE's attention.

When one of the guardians tried to show her court-granted guardianship documents to agents, she said one told her, "This is worth nothing," and an officer said someone had called and "reported that there were two African kids at Hancock." In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the brothers had "violated their student visas by failing to attend classes at Piney Woods School" and were therefore subject to removal. Their lawyer said no one needed to handcuff the teenagers and that they simply wanted to finish the school year.

Updates

2026-04-30 — ICE released both brothers after nine days [4]

ICE released Israel and Max Makoka on April 30, 2026, after nine days in detention, returning them to their host family in Mississippi as their immigration case continued. Their immigration lawyer said the brothers would reapply for F-1 student status.

Why we recorded this

Due process in immigration enforcement means the government follows required procedures before detaining and moving to deport someone, including honoring lawful status and the family arrangements a court has recognized. ICE detained two teenagers who had entered on student visas as they waited for the school bus, dismissed their guardians' court-granted guardianship papers as "worth nothing," and sent the minors to detention facilities hundreds of miles apart while beginning deportation proceedings. This archive records when enforcement bypasses the procedural protections owed to people in removal proceedings and falls on vulnerable young people whose status lapsed through a school transfer no one had flagged.

Sources

  1. They left for the school bus. ICE picked them up instead — The Seattle Times primary accessed July 14, 2026
  2. ICE takes 2 teen basketball players into custody in Mississippi — Mississippi Today investigative accessed July 14, 2026
  3. Max and Israel Makoka Were Waiting for a Hancock High School Bus. ICE Took Them Instead. — Mississippi Free Press investigative accessed July 14, 2026
  4. ICE releases brothers as Mississippi Coast community rallies support — Mississippi Today investigative accessed July 14, 2026

See also