Khaby Lame, the world’s most-followed TikTok creator, has departed the United States after being briefly detained by immigration officials over an alleged visa overstay. The Italian-Senegalese influencer, known legally as Seringe Khabane Lame, is now among the highest-profile individuals caught up in former President Donald Trump’s intensifying crackdown on immigration.
Lame was detained last Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Las Vegas airport. He was released the same day and has since exited the country, according to a statement provided to The Guardian by an ICE spokesperson.
The agency said Lame arrived in the U.S. on April 30 and allegedly “overstayed the terms of his visa.”
The incident comes amid a ramp-up in immigration enforcement under Trump’s renewed hardline approach. ICE operations have expanded in recent weeks, sparking protests in Los Angeles and other cities. Critics argue that enforcement efforts are sweeping up not only undocumented immigrants but also individuals with valid visas or green cards.
Lame, who is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and commands a TikTok audience of more than 162 million followers, was allowed to leave voluntarily, avoiding a formal deportation order that could have barred him from reentering the U.S. for up to 10 years.
Bo Loudon, an 18-year-old self-described “pro-Trump influencer,” claimed responsibility for flagging Lame’s case to authorities. “I discovered that he was an illegal,” Loudon wrote on social media. “And I personally took action to have him deported.” Loudon also claimed to have worked with immigration authorities and the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate Lame’s removal.
Under the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, Italian citizens may enter the country for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. ICE confirmed Lame’s entry date as April 30 but did not provide further details, stating, “the information provided is all the information we have available.”
Lame has not publicly commented on the matter and did not respond to a request for comment from The Guardian.
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