As President Donald Trump ramps up his immigration crackdown, not even TikTok’s most-followed star is immune from removal from the U.S.
Khaby Lame, a 25-year-old who skyrocketed to TikTok fame during the global fixation on the app during the Covid-19 pandemic, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on June 6 for “immigration violations,” according to a statement provided by ICE.
Lame, who holds the title of the most-followed account on TikTok with over 162 million followers, entered the country on April 30 and overstayed the terms of his visa, the ICE statement said.
According to the agency, Lame, an Italian citizen, was “granted voluntary departure June 6 and has since departed the U.S.”
Lame did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his team.
Another TikTok personality, self-described pro-Trump influencer Bo Loudon, was quick to take credit for Lame’s departure.
“I discovered he was an illegal who overstayed an invalid VISA, evaded taxes, and I personally took action to have him deported,” the 18-year-old Loudon posted on X on June 6.
Loudon, who is close friends with Barron Trump and vocally boosted the president during the 2024 election cycle, also accused Lame of being a “far-left illegal alien,” despite the TikToker not posting overtly political content on his page.
Loudon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how he discovered that Lame had overstayed his visa, or how he conveyed the message to the authorities.
Lame’s detainment and departure comes amid the Trump administration’s escalation of its mass deportation efforts.
A wave of ICE detentions in Los Angeles last week sparked massive protests across the city, prompting a harsh crackdown from the Trump administration that has included the deployment of as many as 4,000 National Guard troops and several hundred Marines to quell the unrest, which local Democratic officials have decried as unnecessary and incendiary.