ICE arrests British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos at New Orleans airport following immigration judge's removal order
Milo Yiannopoulos, a British citizen and former Breitbart editor, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana. The Department of Homeland Security said Yiannopoulos entered the United States legally on May 14, 2019, on a visa but overstayed it. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to appear at a scheduled immigration hearing.
Two sources · Thin corroboration
Yiannopoulos, 41, is a United Kingdom citizen who rose to prominence in the mid-2010s as a senior editor at Breitbart News and a vocal supporter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. According to CNN, he had been publicly employed and appearing at speaking events in the U.S. since at least 2015, and in 2017 said he was in the country on an O-1 visa for individuals of "extraordinary ability." His immigration status in the years before his 2019 entry remains unclear; CNN noted it had reached out to DHS for clarification.
DHS confirmed in a statement posted to X that Yiannopoulos "chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws." After he failed to appear at his immigration hearing, a judge entered a final removal order on July 22. ICE arrested him at the New Orleans airport on August 27. As of Friday evening, he remained in ICE custody, with the agency's online detainee locator listing contact information for its Alexandria, Louisiana office.
Following his arrest, far-right influencer Laura Loomer wrote on X that she had previously reported Yiannopoulos to ICE and the FBI. CNN noted there is no indication that any report from Loomer had a connection to his arrest, and that ICE arrests at U.S. airports have been occurring more frequently during the Trump administration's deportation push. The White House, when asked for comment, referred CNN to DHS.