Trump’s ICE Detains TikTok Star Khaby Lame

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Donald Trump’s administration detained TikTok megastar Khaby Lame this week for allegedly overstaying his visa. Bo Loudon, a MAGA-aligned influencer who frequents Mar-a-Lago and appears on pro-Trump cable news shows, publicly boasted that he reported Lame to ICE, claiming the Italian-Senegalese creator was part of the “far left.”

Loudon posted a screenshot from an ICE database showing Lame, who has over 162 million followers on TikTok, in custody at the Henderson Detention Center. However, the record doesn’t pull up on ICE’s webpage which could indicate that ICE deleted the record.

According to a statement from ICE to Men’s Journal, Lame, known for his silent TikTok videos mocking overly complicated life hacks, was not arrested or charged with any crime, but was “detained” at the Las Vegas airport after overstaying his visa and granted voluntary departure, allowing him to leave the U.S. without further legal consequence. Lame hasn’t released any statements confirming ICE’s description of the encounter

Lame recently posted himself shopping for manga on his Instagram page. Spending money at books stores is not exactly the kind of behavior that American citizens need to be saved from

Some MAGA accounts online celebrated the removal of a harmless and beloved content creator. This underscores the MAGA movement’s pattern of painting immigrants and foreigners as threats, regardless of facts.

Khaby Lame isn’t political, violent, or dangerous. He’s a 25-year-old internet comedian who shrugs and gestures at bad DIY videos. The idea that he was framed as a menace by a Trump-aligned figure speaks more to the right’s obsession with punishment and control than any real immigration risk.