Right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos detained by ICE

Milo Yiannopoulos, a right-wing political pundit from Britain, has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is currently facing removal from the country.

The ICE detainee records indicate that Yiannopoulos, aged 41, who previously served as an editor for Breitbart News and was a political aide to musician Kanye West, is apparently being held in Louisiana.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an Immigration Judge issued a final removal order against him on July 22 after he failed to appear for his immigration hearing, and he will remain incarcerated until his deportation.

The individual, who describes himself as an "internet's most fabulous supervillain," is labeled by his detractors as someone who promotes hateful rhetoric.

Yiannopoulos, who was raised in Kent, southern England, was apprehended on August 27 after arriving at the New Orleans airport.

The DHS stated that he arrived in the United States in May 2019 and then "chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws."

The statement from the DHS referred to him as "an illegal alien from the United Kingdom."

The BBC approached the British embassy in Washington for comments but received no response from Yiannopoulos regarding their inquiry.

The DHS statement further asserted that "being in detention is a choice," urging migrants residing in the U.S. without legal status to "self-deport now."

Yiannopoulos was an early supporter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, notably headlining a "Gays for Trump" event at the Republican National Convention that year.

Although Yiannopoulos has since become critical of Trump, he continues to endorse the Republican president's policy platform, posting on X in March that Trump "has lost his way, bought off by foreign interests."

Yiannopoulos, despite identifying as gay at one point, has courted controversy with his statements concerning transgender individuals, Muslims, Black Lives Matter, feminists, and gay people, and now describes himself as "ex-gay."

In 2020, he assisted Kanye West in the rapper's presidential campaign. He also worked for Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Republican congresswoman who later had a public disagreement with Trump and became a strong critic before leaving her congressional position.

He has authored articles with sensational titles such as "Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy" and "Would You Rather Your Child Had Feminism or Cancer?"

He also previously expressed support for ICE raids, stating on X last year that ICE agents should have "total legal immunity when they're on duty."

In 2025, he posted, "We have got to deport millions and millions of people. Without that, nothing else matters."

Yiannopoulos also used social media to advocate for "on the spot deportation for anyone who can't prove they are in the US legally."

Laura Loomer, a far-right commentator and ally of Trump who has had disputes with Yiannopoulos, claimed responsibility for his apprehension by ICE.