Milo Yiannopoulos, the far-right commentator who claims he stopped being gay after embracing religion, has reportedly been arrested by ICE agents after allegedly overstaying his US visa and failing to attend an immigration hearing.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Yiannopoulos at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Louisiana on Thursday, 27 August, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The British citizen has been living in the United States since 2019.
The Department of Homeland Security said Yiannopoulos entered the United States through New York in 2019 but remained after his visa expired. According to the agency, an immigration judge issued a final removal order on 22 July after he failed to attend a hearing.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
Yiannopoulos, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on immigration and deportation of non-citizens, is now beleived to be in custody and awaiting removal from the USA.
The pundit has been a big supporter of the the program that captures and deports people from the USA, and he’s publicly urged the Trump administration to take an even tougher approach. In a June 2025 post on the social media platform X he said California “needs ICE checkpoints at supermarket entrances, gas stations, strip malls, intersections and government buildings, with on the spot deportation for anyone who can’t prove they are in the US legally”.
Yiannopoulos is the former editor of Breitbart News. Following his departure from the publication, leaked emails reportedly suggested he worked with white nationalists to develop story ideas. He later resigned after a video circulated that appeared to show him suggesting sexual relationships involving adolescents could be consensual. He subsequently apologised for the comments, saying they reflected his attempts to cope with sexual abuse he experienced as a teenager at the hands of a priest.
At the time, Yiannopoulos was also publishing books and speaking on tours across US college campuses. He was a regular commentator on media outlets including Australia’s Sky News, now known as News24. He also maintained close ties to supporters of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. In 2019 he was banned from entering Australia over his anti-Islam commentary.
Yiannopoulos later worked for Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and subsequently became involved in rapper Kanye West’s short-lived presidential campaign. Most recently, he has been working as West’s official spokesperson.
