‘Ex-gay’ commentator Milo Yiannopoulos deported from US to UK by ICE
Milo Yiannopoulos. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)
British right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the United States after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Yiannopoulos, 41, was deported to the UK on Friday (28 August), describing him as an “illegal alien from the United Kingdom” who had been sent “back to his home country”.
As first reported by TMZ, Yiannopoulos was arrested by ICE on August 27 after arriving at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. According to a statement from a DHS spokesperson, he first entered the US in May 2019 and subsequently overstayed his legal status.
The deportation has drawn particular attention because Yiannopoulos has spent years advocating for some of the same aggressive immigration policies that ultimately resulted in his own removal.
He has repeatedly called for mass deportations and stricter immigration enforcement, writing on social media in 2025 that the US should deport “millions and millions of people.” He has also advocated for the immediate deportation of people unable to prove they are legally in the country and previously called for “total legal immunity” for ICE agents carrying out raids.
Now, he has been deported by the very agency he once enthusiastically supported.
Yiannopoulos grew up in Kent, England, and rose to prominence as a provocative right-wing commentator and former editor at Breitbart News. He was an early supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election and headlined a “Gays for Trump” event during the Republican National Convention that year – though last year said he regretted “mainstreaming homosexuality”.
Although Yiannopoulos has criticised the president in recent years, he has continued to express support for many elements of Trump’s political agenda.
He has also worked with figures including rapper Kanye West, assisting with West’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.
Yiannopoulos has long courted controversy over his comments about transgender people, Muslims, Black Lives Matter, feminists and LGBTQ+ people. Although he has previously identified as gay, he now describes himself as “ex-gay.”
Far-right commentator and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who has publicly feuded with Yiannopoulos, claimed credit for his arrest in a 28 August post to her X account, saying she had contacted DHS about him. She celebrated his removal on social media and claimed he would never be allowed to return to the US.
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