DIAMONDHEAD, Miss. (WLOX) — Israel and Max Makoka, the two brothers who gained national attention after they were detained by ICE, are now back home with their host family.
Israel and Max Makoka, the two brothers that gained national attention after they were detained by ICE are now back at home with their host family.(wlox)
The brothers were waiting for their school bus in Diamondhead the morning of April 21 when their host father, Cliff Baptiste, noticed an unfamiliar car loitering nearby, according to the Mississippi Free Press.
Just as the bus arrived, 10 unmarked cars surrounded the scene and ICE agents detained and zip-tied both boys.
“We should have got a notice. A phone call. The school should have got a notice. A phone call. They went straight to arrest,” Cliff Baptiste said. “Now that’s a broken system right there. They didn’t follow their own protocol.”
“We should have got a notice. A phone call. The school should have got a notice. A phone call. They went straight to arrest,” the brothers’ host father Cliff Baptiste said.(wlox)
The incident stemmed from a paperwork issue caused by faulty legal advice that the host family received, a lawyer working with Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith — who helped get the brothers released — said.
Israel and Max Makoka, the two brothers that gained national attention after they were detained by ICE are now back at home with their host family.(wlox)
The brothers were detained for nine days, with Israel transferred to Louisiana and Max sent to a shelter in Houston, Texas.
“I had one roommate over there, and he told me he’d been here for seven months,” Max said. ”So, for me, it was clear. I was like, I can stay here for, like, even a year. So, I was scared a little bit.”
”So, for me, it was clear. I was like, I can stay here for, like, even a year. So, I was scared a little bit,” Max said.(wlox)
Israel said he tried to remain positive throughout the ordeal.
“When we went to the office in Gulfport, I was on the phone with my mom. Because before I went to Hancock County Jail, I called her. And she was crying on the phone,” he said. “She was worried about me. But I was like, I was like, okay, it’s going to be alright. You know, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know myself what would happen. But I was just trying to stay positive, I would say.”
Israel said he tried to remain positive throughout the ordeal.(wlox)
Now, they are back home with their host family in Diamondhead, who hope they will be able to stay in the country.
The brothers’ host mother, Gail Baptiste, said that though it may be difficult, there is a way for them to stay in the country. She said the hope that carried them through their detention will see them through to the end.
“You know, it’s a process. So, we’re just going to keep trusting that God is in control and that the process is the process. But we have hope when it appeared that we didn’t,” she said.
The boys’ host mother, Gail Baptiste, said that though it may difficult, there is a way for them to stay in the country.(wlox)
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