Top TikToker Khaby Lame detained by US immigration
'US 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,' the agency said in a statement to AFP.
Lame entered the United States on April 30 and 'overstayed the terms of his visa,' the statement said of the Friday detention, adding that he was released the same day.
The Italian national, who is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and has a following of more than 162 million on TikTok, 'has since departed the US.'
Lame had not immediately posted publicly about the incident as of Saturday afternoon.
Since taking power in January, US President Donald Trump has delivered on campaign promises to tighten immigration controls and carry out a mass deportation drive -- aspects of which have been challenged in US courts.
Lame holds top spot on the wildly popular TikTok social media app, with 162.2 million followers and has risen to fame for his short silent videos mocking the convoluted tutorials and tips that abound on the internet.
He punctuates his videos with a trademark gesture -- palms turned towards the sky, accompanied by a knowing smile and wide eyes -- as he offers his own simple remedies.
The idea for his content came to him while wandering around the housing project where his family lived in Chivasso, near Turin, after losing his factory mechanic's job in March 2020.
His posts took off -- helping him gross an estimated $16.5 million through marketing deals with companies in the period between June 2022 and September 2023, according to Forbes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump administration deports eight migrants to South Sudan
The Trump administration has deported to South Sudan eight migrants who had been held for more than a month by the US at a military base in Djibouti, the Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday, after the migrants lost a last-ditch effort to halt their transfer. An aircraft carrying US deportees arrived in South Sudan on Saturday, two officials working at Juba airport said. An airport staffer speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters he had seen a document showing that the aircraft 'arrived this morning at 6:00 am' (0400 GMT). An immigration official also said the deportees had arrived in the country but shared no further details, referring all questions to the National Security Service intelligence agency. Earlier, a South Sudan government source said US officials had been at the airport awaiting the migrants' arrival. The fate of the migrants had become a flashpoint in the fight over the legality of the Trump administration's campaign to deter immigration through high-profile deportations to so-called 'third countries' where migrants say they face safety concerns, which has already gone from lower courts to the Supreme Court twice. South Sudan has long been dangerous even for local residents. The US State Department advises citizens not to travel there due to violent crime and armed conflict. The United Nations has said the African country's political crisis could reignite a brutal civil war that ended in 2018. The eight men, who according to their lawyers are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Sudan and Vietnam, had argued their deportations to South Sudan would violate the US Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. They had been held in US custody in Djibouti since a federal judge in Boston in May blocked the Trump administration from immediately moving them to South Sudan over due process concerns. Following additional litigation, the Supreme Court on Thursday sided with the administration, lifting those limits. Two courts considered requests from the migrants' lawyers on an emergency basis on Friday, when courts are otherwise closed for the July 4 Independence Day holiday, but ultimately US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston said the Supreme Court order required him to deny their bid, clearing the way for their deportation. The location of the men in South Sudan after their arrival was not immediately known.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
US deportees arrive in South Sudan, airport sources say
An immigration official also said the deportees had arrived in the countryNAIROBI: An aircraft carrying US deportees arrived in South Sudan on Saturday, two officials working at Juba airport said, after eight migrants lost their last-ditch effort to halt their deportation by the Trump airport staffer speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters he had seen a document showing that the aircraft 'arrived this morning at 6:00 am.'(0400 GMT) An immigration official also said the deportees had arrived in the country but shared no further details, referring all questions to the National Security Service intelligence a South Sudan government source said US officials had been at the airport awaiting the migrants' arrival.
Al Arabiya
18 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
One dead, six wounded in Indianapolis shooting
One person was killed and six others wounded in a shooting in the US city of Indianapolis early Saturday, police said, a day after the country celebrated its independence day. The shooting occurred around 1:27 am (0527 GMT) as officers were investigating disturbances, deputy police operations chief Tanya Terry told a news conference. One was pronounced dead at the scene. Five wounded people were taken from the scene to hospital for treatment, while a sixth walked into a medical facility in a stable condition. Three of the victims were juveniles, including the person who died, Terry said, without providing the ages and conditions of the other victims. Police recovered several firearms at the scene and detained around seven people for questioning. Indianapolis police chief Chris Bailey condemned recurring violence in the city's downtown area, particularly involving young people. 'A kid is dead tonight,' Bailey told reporters. 'It's unacceptable.' The police chief said officers made about 20 arrests throughout the night and recovered guns from minors, including 'an assault rifle stuffed in the front of his pants.' Bailey criticized parents for allowing 'hundreds of unsupervised kids' to roam the downtown area at night. 'We are not your children's keeper. You are,' he said. 'Parents and guardians have got to step up.' The chief said thousands of people had come downtown for fireworks and left peacefully, but others stayed and 'caused trouble.' The shooting marked the second weekend of violence in downtown Indianapolis, according to the police chief. Serious gun violence is common across the United States, where many states have few barriers to the purchasing of firearms, despite widespread support for greater gun control. There have been 189 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive -- which it defines as four or more people shot.
