TikTok Star Khaby Lame Got Detained By ICE. Here’s What We Know

On Friday, June 6, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Khaby Lame—the most-followed creator on TikTok—was detained at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for “immigration violations” after overstaying the terms of his visa. By day’s end, the 25-year-old accepted “voluntary departure” and has already left the country.

Who is Khaby Lame?

If you’ve ever doom-scrolled your way into a “life hack” video only to see a stone-faced guy wordlessly dismantle the gimmick with a flick of the wrist, you’ve probably seen Lame. Born in Senegal and raised in the small industrial city of Chivasso, Italy, Lame rose to fame during the pandemic after losing his factory job in March 2020. His deadpan reaction clips—punctuated with a signature shrug—struck a global nerve, propelling him to more than 160 million TikTok followers and lucrative brand deals.

Lame credits TikTok for providing his working-class family with new stability and has used his earnings to buy his parents a larger home. 

Khaby Lame’s detainment and deportation details

According to ICE, Lame entered the U.S. on April 30 under a visa that required him to depart—or file paperwork to extend his stay—within 30 days. When he didn’t do so, agents took him into custody on June 6 as he prepared to board a flight in Las Vegas.

Within hours, officials offered “voluntary departure,” a legal exit that lets travelers avoid a formal deportation process but bars them from re-entering for a set period unless they secure a new visa. Lame accepted and was on an outbound flight that same night.

The issue appears to be that while Italian citizens typically qualify to stay as a tourist for 90 days without a special visa, engaging in any paid work, such as brand partnerships or appearances, requires a different type of work visa. As Lame lacked a work visa, ICE stopped him.

“Voluntary departure” is technically available to anyone in Lame’s situation, but as recent headlines have proven, it’s rarely granted to Black or brown travelers flagged at the border. In other words, Lame’s global celebrity likely turned a process that often ends in detention and a multi-year ban into a same-day exit. Which raises the obvious question: Why isn’t that courtesy extended to the countless, less-famous migrants ICE detains every week?

Further fueling the “drama” was conservative commentator Bo Loudon, who claimed credit for alerting ICE and posted a screenshot purporting to show Lame in federal custody, according to the Daily Mail. The internet immediately went into detective mode, noting that Lame’s name never showed up in ICE’s public detainee database, leading people to think the whole thing was fake. ICE’s written statement to multiple outlets, including Newsweek, confirmed they did indeed take the TikTok mega-star into custody.

Meanwhile, even with the rumor mill churning, Lame’s socials stayed active. On June 7, he shared Instagram Stories from what looked like Venice Beach, and a fresh TikTok dropped the same day.

The bigger picture

• The timing is political. Lame’s hiccup arrives as the Trump administration ramps up high-profile removals to showcase its tougher immigration stance. Critics say the rush to detain headline-makers, even those with valid passports, fits a larger narrative of “zero tolerance.” But you have to wonder if these celebrity cases are also serving as convenient distractions from the ICE raids and subsequent protests happening in Los Angeles and across the country.
  
• Voluntary departure isn’t the end of the road. Because Lame left of his own accord, he avoids the 10-year re-entry ban that often follows deportation. His team can apply for a new visa once the mandatory waiting period has expired.
  
• His brand partners are mum—for now. Boss and Binance have yet to issue statements. A paperwork snafu is unlikely to affect existing contracts; however, future U.S. activations may be shifted offshore until the visa issues are resolved.

Khaby Lame built an internet empire by saying almost nothing, but ICE just gave everyone something to talk about. For fans, the takeaway is simple: your favorite creator may be a global star, but the US border doesn’t care about blue check marks.