Milo Yiannopoulos Arrested by U.S. Immigration Officials in New Orleans

U.S. Immigration officials arrested British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Immigration officials announced on Friday that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accused of overstaying his visa after entering the United States legally in May 2019 through New York City. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to attend his immigration hearing, a DHS spokesperson stated in an email. "He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws," the spokesperson added. ICE’s online detainee locator does not specify Yiannopoulos' current location but directs family and legal representatives to the agency’s office in Alexandria, Louisiana, which is a deportation hub for international flights. Representatives of Yiannopoulos did not respond to a request for comment, and it is unclear whether he has legal representation. Yiannopoulos has recently worked for rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday evening. Yiannopoulos is known for his support of conservative causes and has made provocative statements criticizing feminism, Islam, and immigration. He has been particularly supportive of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. "Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts," Yiannopoulos wrote on the social platform X last year. He gained notoriety in the early 2010s as a writer for the conservative website Breitbart News but resigned in 2017 after a video resurfaced in which he appeared to endorse pedophilia. He later apologized for those remarks, stating he was a victim of sexual assault as a minor. Yiannopoulos’ arrest comes amid a nationwide increase in detentions related to Trump’s immigration policies. Conservative activist Laura Loomer expressed approval of Yiannopoulos’ arrest on social media, citing past conflicts between the two. Yiannopoulos faced significant controversy during his "Troll Academy Tour" in 2017, which sparked protests at various college campuses. He has also been reported to have connections with self-identified white nationalists. In recent years, Yiannopoulos has continued his involvement in conservative activism, including a brief internship with former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and a short-lived presidential campaign for Ye. This story has been corrected to clarify that Milo Yiannopoulos entered the U.S. legally in 2019, not illegally.