Milo Yiannopoulos
British far-right political pundit Milo Yiannopoulos hosts the ‘Bishops Enough Is Enough’ rally at the MECU Pavilion November 16, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. Organized to coincide and run counter to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the nearby Marriott Baltimore Waterfront, the conservative prayer meeting and convention was organized by the far-right Catholic news outlet Saint Michael’s Media, also known as Church Militant.

Milo Yiannopoulos, the British far-right commentator, was detained by U.S. immigration authorities and deported to the United Kingdom, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed over the weekend.

According to DHS, Yiannopoulos was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Thursday, Aug. 27, at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. A DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos had legally entered the United States in May 2019 but "chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws." An immigration judge issued a final removal order on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to appear at a scheduled immigration hearing, DHS said. He was deported back to the UK the following day, according to the agency.

Yiannopoulos has not publicly commented on the detention or deportation; his usually active social media account went silent following his arrest, and he did not respond to requests for comment from multiple news organizations.

The arrest and deportation drew attention in part because of Yiannopoulos' past political alignment with the Trump administration. DHS publicized the arrest on social media alongside a photo of Yiannopoulos, encouraging others without legal status to pursue voluntary departure. Border czar Tom Homan later said on CNN that the speed of Yiannopoulos' removal reflected a broader push to process deportations more quickly, telling the network the effort was "not the result of preferential treatment" tied to Yiannopoulos' political views.

Yiannopoulos rose to national prominence in the mid-2010s as a writer for Breitbart News, resigning in 2017 after resurfaced comments drew widespread criticism. He later worked on Ye's 2024 presidential campaign and was reportedly in Louisiana for one of the rapper's concerts at the time of his arrest.

Originally published on Enstarz