'Terrified' Milo Yiannopoulos Says ICE Arrest Left Him 'Weeping' After Previously Backing Mass Deportations

Milo Yiannopoulos has described being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the most frightening experience of his life, telling Piers Morgan that the ordeal left him 'weeping like an old woman for an hour'. The British commentator made the remarks during an interview with Morgan in London after being detained at an airport in Louisiana and deported to the UK.

The interview offered Yiannopoulos' first detailed public account of what he says happened after he arrived in Louisiana for a work trip.

According to US border chief Tom Homan, Yiannopoulos had overstayed his visa, failed to appear at an immigration court hearing and was subsequently subject to a deportation order from a federal judge. Homan said ICE had simply carried out that order.

Yiannopoulos disputes parts of that account and says his immigration case was handled in a way he believes was improper. He told Morgan that he had previously entered the US legally on an O-1 visa and later obtained a green card after marrying an American in 2017.

Milo Yiannopoulos Describes a Frightening ICE Detention

Yiannopoulos said he first learned he was going to be deported when 15 ICE agents surrounded him after he arrived at the Louisiana airport on Thursday night.

'I've never been arrested before,' he told Morgan. 'I've never been in trouble with the police.'

He said he spent time in detention and correctional facilities, describing the experience as humiliating, disorientating and physically degrading. He also claimed he went without food for 24 hours and said promises of a nurse and a telephone call were not fulfilled.

The experience appeared to affect him beyond the immediate detention. Recalling an incident several days later when he tumbled down some stairs, Yiannopoulos said the accident triggered memories of what had happened.

'I was weeping like an old woman for an hour,' he said. 'I really have got to get this out of my system.'

He also acknowledged that his reaction had changed the way he viewed other people's accounts of trauma.

'I wouldn't wish it on anyone,' he said.

Yiannopoulos further claimed that two ICE agents recognised him from his time as a supporter of Donald Trump in 2016. He said one appeared reluctant to participate in his detention and another said, 'This is not what I got into this for.'

Those accounts have not been independently established in the interview. Yiannopoulos said at least one agent, and possibly two, walked away from the process because they did not want to take part.

No Immigration Notice

A central dispute concerns the status of Yiannopoulos' green card.

He told Morgan that his card had been valid and that he had been renewing it on a two-year basis. He said it was later cancelled without his knowledge.

Yiannopoulos claimed immigration notices had been sent to an address in Florida where he had not lived for almost a decade. He said three of five notices were returned to sender and that ICE agents later told him his lawyer had been deliberately excluded from receiving them.

Morgan challenged him on whether the cancellation could instead have been an administrative error. Yiannopoulos maintained that the circumstances were unusual and said he had requested his complete immigration records to establish what happened.

He also acknowledged that if he had overstayed his status, there was a legal process that could ultimately result in deportation. His argument was that the process followed in his case was itself improper.

'If I'd overstay, fair enough,' he said. 'But even if I had, things are supposed to happen in a particular order.'

Morgan pointed to conservative commentator Laura Loomer, who publicly claimed credit for reporting Yiannopoulos to ICE and the FBI. Loomer accused him of being in the US illegally and of inciting violence against Trump, claims Yiannopoulos rejected.

He said he had made insulting remarks about Trump and accused him of betraying his political base, but denied ever threatening violence against the president.

Yiannopoulos also told Morgan that he believed his political views had played a role in his removal and said his lawyers did not believe the case would survive legal scrutiny.

'This is not how immigration systems are supposed to work,' he said.

The US government's account remains that Yiannopoulos overstayed his visa, failed to attend an immigration court hearing and was removed after a federal judge issued a deportation order.