TikTok popular star Khaby Lame leaves US after ICE detained him for overstaying visa

The world's most prominent TikTok star, Khaby Lame, whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame, has left the US after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa. This comes amid President Donald Trump's escalating crackdown on immigration, comprising raids in Los Angeles that led days of protests against ICE.

According to a spokesperson for ICE, Lame, the Senegalese-Italian influencer, was detained on Friday at Harry Reid International Airport but was permitted to leave the country without a deportation order. He reached the US on April 30 and "overstayed the terms of his visa," the spokesperson stated.

A voluntary departure, which was allowed to Lame, permits those facing removal from the US to prevent a deportation order on their immigration record, which could disallow them from being come back into the US for up to a decade.

Who is Khaby Lame?

Lame, 25, became popular worldwide during the pandemic without ever saying a word in his videos, which would display him reacting to absurdly sophisticated “life hacks”. He has more than 162 million followers on TikTok alone.

The influencer came to Italy when he was an infant with his working class parents and holds an Italian citizenship. His internet rise swiftly evolved and signed a multi-year partnership with designer brand Hugo Boss in 2022. He was designated as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in January.

It was officially declared that Lame had married Wendy Thembelihle Juel in November, 2023. Later, in May 2024, it came to an end.

Lame was listed in Fortune's 40 Under 40 and Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2022. He is a judge on the television show Italia's Got Talent since 2023.

He has done a voice cameo in the Italian-dubbed version of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), including making a brief, non-speaking cameo appearance in the 2024 action comedy film Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

Lame participated in the Venice Film Festival as a special guest for the first screening of the French film Lost Illusions, by Xavier Giannoli in 2021 September, and recently the Met Gala in New York City last month, days after arriving in the US.

(With inputs from AP)