World's biggest TikTok star leaves US after being detained by ICE
Khaby Lame, the world's most popular TikTok personality, has left the US after being detained by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa.
The Senegalese-Italian influencer, whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained Friday at Harry Reid International Airport but was allowed to leave the US without a deportation order, a spokesperson for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed in a statement.
Lame, 25, arrived in the US on 30 April and 'overstayed the terms of his visa,' the ICE spokesperson said.
His detainment and voluntary departure - which allows those facing removal from the US to avoid a deportation order on their immigration record, which could prevent them from being allowed back into the US for up to a decade - from the US comes amid President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on immigration. This includes raids in Los Angeles that have sparked days of protests against ICE, as the president tests the bounds of his executive authority.
Many from the world of entertainment have reacted to Trump's deployment of the National Guard to LA, calling the actions as 'Un-American' and 'a fucking disgrace'. Governor Gavin Newsom also announced his plans to sue the federal government over the National Guard deployment, calling it 'an unconstitutional act.'
"This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn't just apply to CA (California). It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We're suing him."
Khaby Lame was born in Senegal then moved to Italy as a young child and was raised in a poor area of the town of Chivasso, outside of Turin.
When COVID hit, the then 22-year-old lost his job in a factory and was forced, like millions of Italians, to stay home.
Lame took to social media to pass the time and quickly rose to international fame without ever saying a word in his videos, which would show him reacting to absurdly complicated 'life hacks." He has over 162 million followers on TikTok alone.
His internet fame quickly evolved. He signed a multi-year partnership with designer brand Hugo Boss in 2022 – the same year he became an Italian citizen.
In January, he was appointed as UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Last month, he attended the Met Gala in New York City, days after arriving in the US.
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