Milo Yiannopoulos Speaks Out After US Deportation

British right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, a former supporter of US President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, has spoken publicly for the first time after being arrested and deported from the United States.

In an interview released on Tuesday, Yiannopoulos told host Piers Morgan that he now understands what it feels like to be 'really, really scared.' He said: 'I didn't really grasp the physical reality of the cruelty that has been institutionalized in America.'

Yiannopoulos described being handcuffed and shackled while in detention, criticizing immigration authorities for treating ordinary detainees like criminals. Speaking of the restraints he was forced to wear, he said: 'Everyone arrested is treated like a member of the MS-13 gang, and it hurts a lot more than it looks on television.'

Yiannopoulos was taken into custody by federal agents upon arrival at New Orleans airport in Louisiana last Thursday. The 41-year-old was then transported to a facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a process he called 'humiliating' and 'disorienting.'

'It was terrifying, and I don't think I've ever been as scared as I was then,' Yiannopoulos said.

Conflicting Accounts of the Incident

According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Yiannopoulos legally entered the US on May 14, 2019, but later overstayed his visa. DHS stated that Yiannopoulos received a deportation order in July after missing a scheduled immigration hearing.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, confirmed to CNN on Sunday that Yiannopoulos's deportation was his own doing. Homan said: 'He was ordered to appear in immigration court. He didn't show up. The judge ordered him deported. He was afforded due process by a federal judge, and I removed him. It's that simple.'

However, Yiannopoulos accused Homan of lying and suggested that his shift in political views may have been a factor in the deportation. He said: 'I'm not doing the right-wing provocateur bit anymore. I manage lawyers for a living. I'm a neat and organized person when I'm not being silly on Twitter. And I'm married to an American. There was no reason for me to take such a risk. I didn't need to overstay my visa.'

Green Card 'Canceled'

Yiannopoulos revealed that after marrying in 2017, he applied for an 'adjustment of status' to move from a visa to a green card, which allows for permanent legal residency in the US. However, he says the US canceled his green card without providing evidence.

He also alleged that notices about this change were deliberately sent to an old address to facilitate his removal from the country. Yiannopoulos has vowed to legally fight the 'unjust' deportation, calling the process 'illegal.' He said: 'It's clear the government maliciously and cunningly created a scenario so they could grab me and deport me as an example.'

Al Jazeera reached out to ICE and DHS for comment but did not receive a response.

A Change of Stance

Previously, Yiannopoulos was known as a staunch Trump supporter. He even expressed enthusiasm for the mass deportation campaign and immigration restrictions pursued by Trump after his re-election. In December 2024, Yiannopoulos called for 'no immigration for the next 20 years.' By June 2025, he wrote that immigration checkpoints should be set up in California, 'at the entrances to supermarkets, gas stations, shopping malls, intersections, and government buildings, with on-the-spot deportation of anyone who cannot prove they are in the US legally.'

But in Tuesday's interview, Yiannopoulos said he is 'ashamed' of having supported the US President. He also expressed skepticism about Trump's claim that he is deporting the 'worst of the worst,' pointing out that immigrants with no criminal record are being swept up in the raids.

Yiannopoulos said: 'If ICE did its job properly and freed America of rapists, murderers, drug traffickers — and if a few others got caught in the net, and if I was one of them — then nobody would have anything to say. But they're not doing that.' He admitted the experience of detention has given him a new perspective on the criminal justice system: 'Maybe I was a bit indifferent before when people talked about their trauma. But now I get it, and I don't want that to happen to anyone.'

Feud with Laura Loomer

Yiannopoulos's deportation comes after years of public feuding with Laura Loomer, a close ally of Trump. After news of his detention broke, Loomer appeared to take credit. On social media platform X, she wrote: 'I was the first to report that Milo was in the US illegally, where he incited violence against President Trump and worked for Marjorie Traitor Greene. When Milo called for my assassination, I reported him to ICE and the FBI.'

When asked about Loomer's role in his deportation, Yiannopoulos said she 'poses more danger to herself than to others.' He also repeated questions he has previously raised about her mental health: 'I find it hard to hold a grudge against her, because I don't think she's well. And whenever the Laura Loomer show collapses, as I'm sure it will at any moment, I think she will need a lot of prayers.'