Is he now facing deportation? US court wants to make Prince Harry's immigration documents public
Following his revelations about past drug use, a conservative organization is demanding clarification. In the worst case scenario, Prince Harry could face deportation. President Trump could also intervene.
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- Prince Harry 's visa documents are facing possible publication.
- At a hearing in Washington, federal judge Carl J. Nichols signaled that he would "likely" order disclosure of the immigration documents.
- A release could shed light on whether the British royal made truthful statements about his past drug use on his US visa application.
Prince Harry is threatened with the publication of his visa documents in the USA. A federal judge is currently considering the next steps in a lengthy process that could cause legal problems for the British prince.
The influential conservative organization Heritage Foundation wants to clarify whether the younger son of King Charles lied in his immigration documents about previous drug use or received a celebrity bonus in order to stay in the country permanently.
"We believe the American people have a right to know whether Prince Harry was telling the truth in his application," said Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
The organization argues that there is great public interest in whether Harry received preferential treatment during the application process, especially after he acknowledged his past drug use in his memoir "Reserve" 2023.
"If he lied, you can be deported"
The case before US District Judge Carl Nichols concerns the circumstances under which Harry - the Duke of Sussex and son of King Charles III - entered the US when he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to Southern California in 2020.
The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit after the Department of Homeland Security largely denied its request to release Harry's records under the Freedom of Information Act. Harry is not involved in the lawsuit.
The prince wrote in "Spare" that he had taken cocaine several times since the age of 17. He also admitted to using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms. The USA routinely asks visa applicants about drug use.
This has already caused problems for celebrities such as chef Nigella Lawson, singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss when entering the country. Admitting to previous drug use does not necessarily lead to an entry ban, but an untruthful answer can have serious consequences.
"If he lied, you can be deported," an attorney for Heritage, Samuel Dewey, said after Wednesday's hearing. "People are routinely deported if they lie on immigration forms."
It's possible Harry told the truth when he entered the country
It's also possible, he said, that Harry told the truth about his past drug use in his application and received a clearance from the Department of Homeland Security or some sort of diplomatic visa from the State Department.
Both possibilities are legal, but they would expose the government and Harry to accusations of a celebrity bonus for the prince.
During Wednesday's hearing, Judge Nichols was primarily concerned with how to handle three declarations from Homeland Security employees explaining why the agency denied the records request.
These declarations were not viewed by the Heritage legal team. Nichols is considering releasing some or all of those declarations to the Heritage Foundation.
The judge, who has been presented with some but not all of the visa documents related to Harry's case, said he is also considering whether to request more documents from the government and bring in an outside expert as a consultant.
Judge wants to find a middle ground
The judge said he wants to find a middle ground between disclosing too much information and redacting the documents to the point of irrelevance.
"There is a point at which redactions would leave only a name or a date," he explained.
The judge also appealed to US President Donald Trump, who put the issue of immigration at the center of his election campaign. The president could simply end the case by ordering the release of Harry's documents, he said.