British political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
Yiannopoulos, 41, entered the United States legally in 2019 but overstayed his visa, DHS said. An immigration judge issued him a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to appear for his immigration hearing. “Yiannopoulos was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing,” the agency said in a statement on X, adding that he “will remain in ICE custody pending removal.” A DHS spokesperson referred to him as an “illegal alien from the United Kingdom.”
As of Friday afternoon, Yiannopoulos remained listed as being held at a Louisiana ICE facility, according to the agency’s online detainee locator.
Why he was in Louisiana
DHS has not officially explained why Yiannopoulos was at the airport that day. His arrest did coincide with rapper Kanye West’s concert Friday night at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans — Yiannopoulos served as West’s chief of staff at his Yeezy operation for nearly two years before resigning in 2024, and later worked as director of political operations for West’s 2024 presidential campaign — but that timing has not been confirmed as the reason for his presence in the state.
Loomer claims credit
Conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly claimed credit for the arrest, writing on X that she reported Yiannopoulos to ICE and the FBI in 2024 and again in 2025, alleging he had called for her assassination and expressed support for Hamas and Iran’s Supreme Leader while in the country on an expired visa. “I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally,” Loomer wrote, adding that he “is going to be deported back to the UK.” Loomer and Yiannopoulos have feuded publicly for years. DHS has not confirmed that Loomer’s reports played any role in the case; her claim of credit is her own account, not an official agency explanation.
BREAKING:
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 28, 2026
Illegal alien Milo Yiannopoulos has been detained by ICE.
I was the first person to report on the fact that Milo was in the US illegally where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene.
Recently, Candace Owens invited this… https://t.co/zaQdlPy0MV pic.twitter.com/IF9Mlk4MNb
A notable irony
Yiannopoulos has been an outspoken supporter of aggressive immigration enforcement, including as recently as last year. In a post on X, he called for ICE checkpoints “in California supermarkets and other common areas” and “on the spot deportation for anyone who can’t prove they are in the US legally.” He rose to national prominence during President Trump’s first term as one of the administration’s most vocal supporters, at times referring to Trump as “Daddy.”