U.S. immigration officials said they detained Khaby Lame, one of the world’s most popular TikTok personalities, last week and told him to leave the country after they said he “overstayed the terms of his visa.”
The Italian-Senegalese creator, whose real name is Seringe Khabane Lame, entered the U.S. on April 30, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was granted “voluntary departure” on Friday after he was detained by agents at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Lame did not respond to requests for comment made by NBC News. He has not publicly commented on the reported detainment and subsequent departure.
Lame has continued to post on social media in the days since he reportedly left the U.S. His most recent Instagram story appears to have been posted from Brazil.
Sharks Celebrities Mgmt, which is among the listed agency representatives for the creator, claimed the ICE report is “fake news,” telling NBC News in an email that Lame “did not visit the USA this month to begin with.” They said the “the name mentioned is not his birth name.”
It’s unclear when Lame was last in the U.S. but he did attend the Met Gala in May.
Lame has 162.2 million followers on TikTok, where he grew a massive following during the pandemic after being laid off from a factory job in Italy. The 25-year-old, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the humanitarian aid organization UNICEF, is known for his comedic videos that often use the hashtag, “learnfromkhaby.”
The news comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration in the U.S., including efforts to detain travelers arriving at the border, including airports.
In recent months, social media users have recounted their interactions with immigration officials and shared their fears about traveling back to the U.S. during a period of heightened vigilance at U.S. entry points and borders.
Lame is one of the more high-profile people to date to be detained. Last month, Hasan Piker, one of the top political pundits on Twitch, said that he was stopped and questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after a trip to France.
The Turkish American streamer, who is vocal on a number of political and social issues, said he was asked about his views, including whether he supports President Donald Trump. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said at the time that “claims that his political beliefs triggered the inspection are baseless.”
Immigration raids have also ramped up across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, where protests have continued for days as demonstrators push back on the Trump administration’s aggressive round-up efforts.
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