TikTok Star Khaby Lame Was Detained by ICE in Las Vegas for an Immigration Violation

As protests continue in Los Angeles over ICE raids happening in the city, news has broken that one of the most popular people on TikTok was detained by ICE. Khaby Lame, an influencer who has more than 200 million followers across his various social media channels, was detained by ICE in Las Vegas on June 6.

The news that Khaby was detained has led some to wonder what happened to him, and whether he'll be allowed to stay in the U.S. Here's what we know.

According to a statement from ICE, Khaby Lame was indeed detained. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Seringe Khabane Lame, 25, a citizen of Italy, June 6, at the Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada for immigration violations," they said in an email statement to People. "Lame entered the United States April 30 and overstayed the terms of his visa."

The ICE spokesperson also confirmed that Khaby has since left the country. Khaby was born in Senegal but moved to Italy as a baby and attained Italian citizenship in 2022.

"Lame was granted voluntary departure June 6 and has since departed the U.S.," ICE's statement explained.

Khaby himself has not spoken out about the incident, but the news of his detention came after rumors started to swirl that he had been arrested in the United States.

Khaby is best known on TikTok for mocking overly complicated life hacks and other kinds of videos. His distinctive comedic voice has led to a massive following, and now he's returned to his native Italy. It's unclear why Khaby was in the U.S. or why he overstayed his visa, but at least according to ICE's version of events, his return to Italy was relatively uneventful. We haven't yet heard whether Khaby has a different story to tell.

Khaby's comedic content was more successful than even he could have imagined, and in an interview with People last year, he explained how his success on TikTok has transformed his life.

"Before TikTok, I was working in a factory. I had a lot of different jobs,” he explained. "I was helping support my family — three little brothers, one older brother, and my parents. Then my world changed completely. It’s a whole different life now."

Khaby first discovered the app during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many people, and said that he initially started making videos as a distraction from everything else happening in the world.

"When I discovered TikTok during COVID, I was making videos for fun. It was a way for all of us to step outside of all the things that were going on in the world," he said. "I was just there trying to make people laugh. It wasn’t something that I expected to be my form of work in the future."

Now, Khaby is one of the most successful creators on the platform.