Milo Yiannopoulos, the British far-right commentator who served as chief of staff to rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) for nearly two years, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to The Washington Post.

ICE described Yiannopoulos, who entered the U.S. legally in May 2019, as an "illegal alien from the United Kingdom." An immigration judge issued him a final removal order on July 22 after he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing, and he has been held in Louisiana since Thursday's arrest awaiting deportation, NBC News reported.

The timing raised eyebrows online: Yiannopoulos was reportedly in Louisiana ahead of Ye's own concert in New Orleans on Friday night. He worked as the rapper's chief of staff before the two parted ways in 2024, and has separately been in a legal dispute with his estranged husband, John Campbell.

Neither ICE nor representatives for Yiannopoulos have said when deportation proceedings might conclude.