ICE Deports Milo Yiannopoulos to Britain

ICE Deports Milo Yiannopoulos to Britain

The News

The removal

Milo Yiannopoulos is out of the country. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put the British commentator on a plane and sent him back to the United Kingdom, the Department of Homeland Security says — one day after agents arrested him at a Louisiana airport.

The department confirmed the removal publicly on Saturday, according to The Hill, MSNBC, Reuters and The Guardian. The Guardian reported that the DHS statement it received did not name the country Yiannopoulos was sent to, and that Britain's Telegraph, citing two senior U.S. sources, reported he had been flown back to Britain. The New York Times, BBC News, The Independent, Fox News and the Washington Examiner all reported the destination as the U.K.

The authority

DHS says the legal basis was a final order of removal — not a new charge filed this week.

According to the department, Yiannopoulos entered the United States legally on May 14, 2019, through New York City, and then "chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws." An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to appear at his immigration hearing, DHS said.

How he was picked up

Yiannopoulos, 41, was arrested Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, DHS said. The Guardian reported he was believed to have been traveling to a concert by the rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, who performed Friday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Yiannopoulos worked on Ye's short-lived 2024 presidential campaign, according to Billboard reporting cited by The Guardian.

Timeline

On August 28

"On August 28, ICE deported Milo Yiannopoulos, an illegal alien from the United Kingdom, back to his home country. A day prior, ICE arrested Yiannopoulos at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana," DHS said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

Reactions

In the statement issued while he was still in custody, a DHS spokesperson said: "He will remain in ICE custody pending removal." The spokesperson added that the administration "is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport."

DHS also told the Washington Examiner it had "reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country."

Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and Trump administration ally, claimed on Friday that she had reported Yiannopoulos to ICE over his immigration status, The Guardian reported.

More

Breitbart reported that a DHS post about the arrest indicated Yiannopoulos could be barred from returning, because people who leave voluntarily through the CBP Home App preserve the possibility of coming back legally.

The Frank found no public statement from Yiannopoulos about the deportation. The Daily Mail reported it sought comment from him during his detention and did not receive a response.

The record he ran on

Yiannopoulos spent years demanding exactly the enforcement that was applied to him. The Guardian cited a post from him calling for immigration checkpoints at California "supermarket entrances, gas stations, strip malls, intersection and government buildings, with on the spot deportation for anyone who can't prove they are in the US legally." The Independent quoted a post from last year: "Zero immigration for the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts."

He was recruited to Breitbart in the early 2010s and resigned as a senior editor in 2017 after a video surfaced in which he condoned sexual relations with boys as young as 13. He later said his own experience of abuse as a minor gave him license to comment on the subject. He also served as an intern for former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, according to Washington Post reporting cited by The Guardian.

Background

The Frank covered the arrest and detention on Friday: ICE detains Milo Yiannopoulos at Louisiana airport. That piece covered the airport arrest and his detention in Louisiana; this one covers the removal that followed.

What is not established

DHS has not released the flight details or the port of departure. The Frank has seen no filing from Yiannopoulos or a lawyer challenging the July 22 order, and no confirmation from U.K. authorities of his arrival. Loomer's claim that she triggered the enforcement action is her own account; DHS has not confirmed what prompted the arrest.

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