(NewsNation) — The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, is suing the Department of Homeland Security in an effort to get them to release Prince Harry’s immigration paperwork.
Harry’s immigration status has recently come under fire after the Duke of Sussex admitted in a published memoir to the recreational use of marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.
Applications for U.S. visas specifically ask about current and past drug use, and
admitting to such behavior typically leads to applications being rejected.
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Prince Harry currently resides in Montecito, California, with his wife, Meghan Markle.
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In February last year, President Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of “protecting Harry,” adding that he wouldn’t do the same if he won the White House.
Now, Trump said last week that he is “not interested” in deporting Harry.
“I don’t want to do that,” Trump told the New York Post. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”
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Call for Prince Harry’s immigration records
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss their efforts to obtain Harry’s immigration paperwork.
“We’re calling for the release of all of Prince Harry’s immigration records,” he said. “Because we believe the American people have a right to know whether or not Harry lied on his US immigration application.”
The Heritage Foundation has alleged the DHS “may have improperly granted” his visa after the royal family member disclosed personal drug use in his memoir, “Spare.”
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“I think it’s important because the application of U.S. immigration law really does matter,” Gardiner said. “No one should be above the law, whether they’re a prince or a pauper, and Prince Harry may have received preferential treatment, he may have lied on his application, and so the rule of law really does, does matter, and it applies everybody, and Prince Harry should be no exception at all.”
A federal judge is set to consider the next steps in a slow-moving court case over whether to release some of Harry’s immigration documents.
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Will Prince Harry get deported?
Gardiner said The Heritage Foundation is just calling for the release of all the documents and did not directly address his deportation.
“If someone lies on an immigration application, that’s a federal criminal offense, and normally, those individuals would be either deported or prosecuted,” he said. “So the stakes are certainly very, very high for Prince Harry at this at this stage.”
The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
