Khaby Lame, one of the world’s most famous ‘tiktokers’, has left the U.S. after being detained in Las Vegas for overstaying his visa. He was allowed to leave without a deportation order.
Khaby Lame, the ‘tiktoker’ most famous in the world, has left the US after being detained by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa.
The Senegalese-Italian influencer, whose real name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained on Friday at Harry Reid International Airport, but was allowed to leave the U.S. without a deportation order, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed in a statement. Lame, 25 years old, arrived in the United States on April 30 and “overstayed his visa,” the ICE spokesperson said.
Their detention and voluntary departure, which allows those facing expulsion from the U.S. to avoid a deportation order on their immigration record, which could prevent them from re-entering the U.S. for up to a decade, from the U.S. comes amid the escalation of measures by President Donald Trump against immigration. This includes raids in Los Angeles that have led to days of protests against ICE, while the president tests the limits of his executive authority.
Many members of the entertainment world have reacted to the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles, calling the actions “un-American” and “a fucking disgrace.” California Governor Gavin Newsom also announced his plans to sue the federal government for the deployment of the National Guard, calling it a “unconstitutional act.”
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“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He lit the fires and acted illegally to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA (California). It will allow him to go to ANY STATE and do the same thing. We are going to sue him.”
Khaby Lame was born in Senegal, moved to Italy as a child, and grew up in a poor area of the city of Chivasso, on the outskirts of Turin. When COVID-19 arrived, this 22-year-old lost his job in a factory and was forced, like millions of Italians, to stay at home.
Lame took to social media to pass the time and quickly rose to international fame without saying a word in his videos, which showed him reacting to absurdly complicated “life hacks.” He has over 162 million followers on TikTok alone.
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His fame on social media quickly revolutionized. In 2022, he signed a multi-year contract with the design brand Hugo Boss, the same year he obtained Italian citizenship. In January, he was named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Last month, he attended the Met Gala in New York, days after arriving in the United States.
