Former Breitbart editor and conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the US just one day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him at a Louisiana airport.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Saturday that Yiannopoulos, 41, was sent back to his native United Kingdom on Friday. His removal came after agents detained him Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Conservative activist Laura Loomer celebrated the development on X after previously taking credit for alerting authorities about Yiannopoulos’ immigration status. “Milo Yiannopoulos is in ICE custody after I exposed his illegal alien lifestyle,” Loomer wrote following his arrest, while also taking aim at his past association with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
DHS said Yiannopoulos legally entered the US in May 2019 but remained in the country beyond his authorized stay.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a DHS spokesperson said.
The department said an immigration judge issued Yiannopoulos a final order of removal on July 22 after he failed to appear for an immigration hearing.
ICE subsequently arrested him Thursday in New Orleans before authorities deported him the following day.
The Daily Mail reported that Yiannopoulos arrived back in Britain on Saturday morning US time.
DHS also released a photograph of Yiannopoulos following his detention, showing the longtime political provocateur inside federal custody.
“Being in detention is a choice,” DHS said while promoting the administration’s self-deportation program, which offers qualifying migrants financial assistance and a flight out of the country.
Yiannopoulos’ removal attracted additional attention because he has spent years publicly demanding aggressive immigration enforcement.
In June 2025, he called mass deportations one of the most important issues facing the Trump administration.
“We have got to deport millions and millions and millions of people,” Yiannopoulos wrote on X. “Without that, nothing else matters.”
Days later, Yiannopoulos went even further, calling for ICE checkpoints at supermarkets, gas stations, strip malls, intersections and government buildings.
He argued that people unable to demonstrate that they were legally present in the US should face immediate deportation.
Yiannopoulos first rose to national prominence as an editor at Breitbart News and became a vocal supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election.
He later became closely associated with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, serving as director of political operations during the rapper’s 2024 presidential effort.
Yiannopoulos also helped arrange Ye’s controversial 2022 dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, which was attended by Nick Fuentes. The gathering generated widespread political backlash after Trump faced criticism over Fuentes’ attendance.
He also previously worked as an unpaid intern for Greene before the Georgia Republican left Congress.
The circumstances surrounding his arrest triggered a public feud between Greene and Loomer, who were once political allies.
Loomer told the New York Times that she had wanted Yiannopoulos removed from the country for some time.
“I have been saying this should happen for a long time and now it did,” Loomer said before declaring that Yiannopoulos had been “Loomered!”
Other figures on the political right also celebrated his removal. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, responded to the news on X with two words: “Good riddance.”
Reuters independently confirmed that DHS said Yiannopoulos was deported to the United Kingdom Friday, one day after his arrest. Yiannopoulos could not immediately be reached by the outlet for comment.
The rapid deportation brought his immigration case to an abrupt conclusion after years in the US and years of his own public calls for stricter enforcement.
Yiannopoulos entered the country legally in 2019, overstayed his authorization, missed his immigration hearing and ultimately received a final removal order, according to DHS.
By Friday, ICE had carried out that order and sent the outspoken deportation advocate back to Britain.
