Milo Yiannopoulos, the controversial far-right political commentator who once worked for Kanye West, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at an airport in Louisiana Thursday.
Yiannopoulos, 41, was apprehended by immigration enforcement officers at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security said Yiannopoulos, born in the United Kingdom, had legally entered the country on May 14, 2019, but overstayed his visa. A mugshot released by the agency showed a somber-looking Yiannopoulos looking at the camera.
Online records indicated Yiannopoulos was being held in ICE custody as of Friday afternoon.
“Yiannopoulos was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in the statement.
TMZ was the first to report on Yiannopoulos’s arrest
The Independent has asked ICE for comment.
Yiannopoulos’s arrest in Louisiana came roughly a day before West, also known as Ye, is set to perform at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans. It’s unclear if Yiannopoulos was expected to attend his former boss’s concert.
Laura Loomer, a close ally of President Donald Trump and far-right activist, posted on X applauding ICE for detaining Yiannopoulos.
“Today is a great day for America,” Loomer wrote, taking credit for being “the first” to report he was “an illegal alien.”
Yiannopoulos, a far-right provocateur, is known for his work in alt-right politics, including running West’s presidential campaign in 2022 and later as an unpaid intern for former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
He also previously worked for Breitbart, a far-right news and opinion website, and has self-published books.
He has a long history of posting sexist, racist, transphobic content online to amass views and draw attention to his celebrity. He’s equated feminism to cancer, said only white men should work in law enforcement and construction, and called trans people a “danger to civic order.”
The Anti-Defamation League has listed examples of Yiannopoulos’ rhetoric under the categories “extremism, hate or terrorism.”
Yiannopoulos has posted pro-ICE messages online, writing on X in September 2025 that there should be “total legal immunity for ICE agents when they’re on duty,” and in August 2025 that “ ICE should be legally required at polling stations.”
“If ICE has 90,000 employees, and all we are asking for is 10,000 deportations a day, that’s 9 agents per illegal. More than enough to cover investigation, apprehension and removal. What are they all waiting for?” he posted shortly after Trump was inaugurated.
