- Lame is the number one influencer on the wildly popular social media app TikTok, with 162.2 million followers, and has become famous for his short, silent videos poking fun at the confusing tutorials and advice that plague the internet.
- Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has made good on campaign promises to tighten immigration controls and carry out mass deportations – aspects of which have been challenged in US courts.
LOS ANGELES, US: US immigration agents detained and then allowed the “voluntary departure” of the world's most popular TikToker, Xabi Lama, after he “overstayed” his visa, authorities said Saturday.
“On June 6, at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Italian citizen Seringe Habane Lame, 25, for immigration violations,” the agency said in a statement to AFP.
An arrest affidavit on Friday said Lame entered the United States on April 30 and “overstayed his visa,” and noted that he was released the same day.
The Italian national, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has more than 162 million followers on TikTok, “has since left the US.”
As of Saturday afternoon, Lame had not made any public statements about the incident.
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has made good on campaign promises to tighten immigration controls and carry out a mass deportation campaign, some aspects of which have been challenged in US courts.
Lame is the number one influencer on the wildly popular social media app TikTok, with 162.2 million followers, and has become famous for his short, silent videos that make fun of the confusing tutorials and advice that abound on the internet.
He intersperses his videos with his signature gesture – palms facing the sky, paired with a knowing smile and wide eyes – offering his own simple solutions.
The idea for this content came to him while walking through the housing complex in Chivasso, near Turin, where his family lived after he lost his job as a factory mechanic in March 2020.
His posts have become popular and helped him earn about $16.5 million in marketing deals with companies between June 2022 and September 2023, according to Forbes.
