US immigration authorities have confirmed that British right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested after overstaying his permission to remain in the United States.

The 41-year-old, who grew up in Kent, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 27 August at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Yiannopoulos legally entered the US through New York City on 14 May 2019, but subsequently remained in the country beyond his permitted stay.

A DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos "was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing". Officials confirmed he remains in ICE custody in Louisiana awaiting deportation, and the department has released a mugshot of him.

Following his detention, conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed publicly that she had reported Yiannopoulos to DHS, stating she had repeatedly alerted federal authorities about his immigration status.

The arrest comes despite Yiannopoulos's vocal public backing for strict border enforcement and mass deportations. In June 2025, he posted that federal agents should be permitted to deport anyone "on the spot" who "can't prove they are in the US legally", and called for "total legal immunity for Ice agents when they're on duty". In another post published in 2025, he wrote: "We have got to deport millions and millions of people. Without that, nothing else matters."

Yiannopoulos established his profile as a self-styled provocateur, once describing himself as the "most fabulous supervillain on the internet", while critics have long characterised his output as hate speech. He previously worked as an editor at Breitbart News, completed an unpaid internship in 2022 for former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and was at one stage employed by the rapper Kanye West.

He initially drew widespread attention as a supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 US presidential campaign, headlining a "Gays for Trump" event at that year's Republican National Convention. Although he has continued to back Trump's platform, the relationship has shown friction; in March this year, he posted on X that Trump "has lost his way, bought off by foreign interests".

Across his public life, Yiannopoulos has drawn sharp criticism for his comments on transgender people, Muslims, Black Lives Matter, feminists, and gay people. While he previously identified as gay, he now describes himself as an "ex-gay".

His career was severely disrupted in 2017 when he was dropped from speaking at the US conservative conference CPAC after video emerged in which he appeared to condone paedophilia. Yiannopoulos resigned from Breitbart News and apologised, though he denied the allegations and maintained he had been discussing his own childhood experiences. He was also frequently associated with the alt-right, though he has denied being part of the movement.

What we do not know yet is the exact timetable for his deportation or whether any further legal challenges will be submitted. The British embassy in Washington has been approached for comment, while Yiannopoulos did not respond to requests for comment.

For now, he remains in federal custody in Louisiana awaiting removal. I'll be tracking this one — check back for updates.