ICE Arrests Social Media Star Farzad Toutouni
The Iranian citizen with over 1 million Instagram followers was detained in Los Angeles and will remain in custody pending removal proceedings.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Financial Crime
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested social media personality Farzad Toutouni in Los Angeles on October 27. ICE says Toutouni is in the United States illegally and has a lengthy criminal history, and he will remain in custody pending removal proceedings.
Why it matters
The arrest puts a high-profile online figure at the center of immigration enforcement and criminal history questions. The case also highlights how removal orders issued decades apart can remain unenforced until a new arrest.
Toutouni is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings following his October 27 arrest in Los Angeles. He was previously sentenced to more than 16 months for forgery and related offenses, and the timing and outcome of the removal case remain undetermined.
The players
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
The federal agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsible for immigration enforcement and removal operations.
Farzad Toutouni
A social media personality with more than 1 million Instagram followers who is an Iranian citizen facing removal proceedings.
The details
Toutouni, an Iranian citizen, entered the United States legally in 1983. Immigration judges ordered him removed in 1993 and again in 1999, and he was deported to Mexico after the 1999 order, but he allegedly reentered the country illegally in 2011 near Saint Clair, Michigan, by crossing a river on an electric raft bought in Canada.
Timeline
Toutouni entered the United States legally in 1983.
An immigration judge ordered his removal in 1993, which was not carried out.
He was deported to Mexico in 1999 after a second removal order.
He allegedly reentered the United States illegally in 2011.
ICE arrested him in Los Angeles on October 27, 2026.
Legal Context
Toutouni's case reflects a documented sequence of removal orders and deportation that preceded an alleged illegal reentry, a pattern that bears on how immigration enforcement handles repeat cases. The sentence for forgery and related offenses adds a criminal dimension to the immigration matter in Los Angeles.
For Los Angeles residents, the case shows how immigration enforcement can involve individuals with prior fraud convictions. The removal proceedings will determine whether Toutouni remains in the country or is removed again.
The takeaway
Repeated removal orders do not always lead to lasting removal, and the outcome of Toutouni's pending proceedings will show how the system handles such cases. Readers following immigration enforcement should watch the outcome of the removal hearings.
Further reading
For related coverage of fraud and forgery cases, see Financial Crime on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ABC7.
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