By Kristina Cooke and Steve Gorman
Aug 28 (Reuters) – British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who has called for ICE checkpoints at supermarkets in the United States, with summary deportation of anyone failing to prove legal U.S. residency, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, agency records showed on Friday.
Yiannopoulos, 41, was arrested on Thursday at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and is subject to a final order of removal from the U.S., ICE’s parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement describing him as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom.”
According to DHS, Yiannopoulos legally entered the U.S. in May 2019 through New York City but “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws.”
“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 DHS statement said. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”
Yiannopoulos was not immediately available for comment and it was unclear whether he had obtained legal representation.
The celebrity news site TMZ.com, which broke news of his arrest, suggested that Yiannopoulos, who has close ties to the hip-hop star formerly known as Kanye West, was in New Orleans ahead of the musician’s scheduled performance there on Friday night.
ICE’s detention of Yiannopoulos marked an ironic turn for the political pundit who is known for far-right-wing commentary, including anti-Islamic rhetoric and support for immigration enforcement beyond the crackdown instituted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
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.”
In addition to his association with West, Yiannopoulos has worked with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
He started working in 2014 for right-wing Breitbart News, where he gained notoriety for his prominent role in the “Gamergate” anti-feminist harassment campaign that targeted women in the video game industry.
(Reporting by Kristina Cooke in San Francisco and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Franklin Paul, Caitlin Webber, Rod Nickel)
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