World’s most popular TikTok star Khaby Lame leaves the US after being detained by ICE

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Khaby Lame, the world’s most popular TikTok personality with millions of followers, has left the U.S. after being detained by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa.

The Senegalese-Italian influencer, whose legal name is Seringe Khabane Lame, was detained Friday at Harry Reid International Airport but was allowed to leave the country without a deportation order, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed in a statement.

Lame arrived in the U.S. on April 30 and “overstayed the terms of his visa,” the ICE spokesperson said. The Associated Press sent a message seeking comment Tuesday to the email address listed on Lame’s Instagram account. He has not publicly commented on his detainment.

His detainment and voluntary departure from the U.S. comes amid President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigration, including raids in Los Angeles that sparked days of protests against ICE, as the president tests the bounds of his executive authority.

A voluntary departure — which was granted to Lame — allows those facing removal from the U.S. to avoid a deportation order on their immigration record, which could prevent them from being allowed back into the U.S. for up to a decade.

The 25-year-old rose to international fame during the pandemic without ever saying a word in his videos, which would show him reacting to absurdly complicated “life hacks." He has over 162 million followers on TikTok alone.

The Senegal-born influencer moved to Italy when he was an infant with his working class parents and has Italian citizenship.

His internet fame quickly evolved. He signed a multiyear partnership with designer brand Hugo Boss in 2022. In January, he was appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Last month, he attended the Met Gala in New York City, days after arriving in the U.S.

FILE - Khaby Lame departs The Mark Hotel prior to attending The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" in New York, May 5, 2025. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP File)

FILE - Khaby Lame poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Oppenheimer' in London, July 13, 2023. (Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP File)

FILE - TikTok star Khaby Lame poses for a photograph after being named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Dakar, Senegal, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)

FILE - Khaby Lame opens his shirt to reveal the image of Chadwick Boseman upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' in London, Nov. 3, 2022. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)