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TikTok star Khaby Lame leaves US after being detained by immigration officials

Ana Faguy
BBC News
Getty Images Man in top hat stands on red carpetGetty Images

Khaby Lame, considered the most popular TikTok star in the world, has left the US after being detained by immigration officials.

The influencer was detained in Las Vegas on Friday for allegedly staying in the country after his visa expired. He then voluntarily departed, but officials did not say which day he left.

Lame is one of hundreds of people caught in US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, which includes cross-country raids and an increasing number of deportations, and which has also sparked days of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lame has not publicly commented on his voluntary departure, leaving fans guessing about when he left and where he is now.

ICE has said he arrived in the US on 30 April and then overstayed his visa.

Officials said he was released the same day he was detained and subsequently left the country.

A voluntary departure allows people who are facing removal from the US to avoid having a deportation order on their immigration record. Deportation orders can prevent immigrants from being allowed back into the US for up to a decade.

The 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian influencer, who has 162.3 million TikTok followers, became popular during the pandemic for his silent videos and signature facial expressions.

"It's my face and my expressions which make people laugh," Lame told The New York Times in 2021, adding that his reactions speak "a global language".

As an Italian citizen, he is allowed to travel to the US for business or tourism for up to 90 days without a visa.

Lame attended the Met Gala in May. Otherwise, it is unclear what he was doing while in the US.

His deportation has made headlines as he is one of the more high-profile people to be deported in Trump's latest surge to cut illegal immigration into the country.

Some 51,000 undocumented migrants were in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention as of early June - the highest on record since September 2019.