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‘Clear-cut case of transparency’
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Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom, said before the hearing that it was a “clear-cut case of transparency and accountability from the Biden administration”.
“No one should be above the law when it comes to applying for immigration status in the United States,” said Gardiner.
In Spare, the Duke of Sussex sparked controversy when admitting to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.
Questions have been raised over whether he lied on his US visa application or if he was shown favourable treatment by officials because of his high-profile status.
The foundation has sought “all records within Prince Harry’s Alien Registration file” including “any applications for immigration benefits” and “all records relating to any requests for waiver by Prince Harry”.
In a court filing, the Heritage Foundation argued: “[The case] comes about in the main because HRH [His Royal Highness] voluntarily – and for immense profit – admitted in writing to the elements of any number of controlled substance violations. (Indeed, some say HRH has approached the point of bragging and encouraging illegal drug use.)
“The Duke of Sussex did so despite the fact that it is widely known that such admissions can have adverse immigration consequences for non-citizens and despite employing pre-eminent legal advisers on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The hearing will hear arguments from both sides.
The argument of privacy was “preposterous” given that Prince Harry published his drug use in his book and had previously given US media interviews surrounding his private life, said Gardiner.
“This really matters to Americans,” Gardiner said. “This case raises many issues as two whether or not people are given any special treatment in coming to the United States and whether or not the rule of law is applied equally.”
He added: “The issue of migration in the United States has become the number one issue in the presidential election. The American people expect their leader to enforce immigration law strictly and this should apply to anyone entering the US including royals like Prince Harry.”
‘Records are particularly sensitive’
The DHS argued in a court filing that it “cannot confirm or deny whether any other records that [Heritage] are seeking exist because the mere acknowledgment of these records would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Prince Harry’s privacy”, according to Newsweek
“The records are particularly sensitive because releasing them, even in part, would reveal Prince Harry’s status in the United States, which Prince Harry has not disclosed,” the court filings said.
Nigella Lawson was banned from flying to the US in 2014 after confessing to taking cocaine and smoking marijuana.
“Courts consistently hold that a person’s visa or immigration status is private, personal information exempt from disclosure.”
In April 2014, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson was banned from flying to the US after confessing to taking cocaine and smoking marijuana.
The DHS said at the time said that foreign citizens who had admitted to drug offences could be deemed inadmissible under US law from entering the country.
The ban was later lifted in June 2024 so that Lawson could travel to the US and film a new series of her cookery contest The Taste USA.
Prince Harry said in February that he had considered becoming a US citizen.
In an interview on Good Morning America, the Duke said he had “no idea” what was stopping him from doing so.
He added: “The thought has crossed my mind but is not a high priority right now.”
Renounce his title
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However, he runs the risk of being denied citizenship as the drugs he has admitted to taking are banned or under strict control in the United States.
According to policy published by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, any application would require him to renounce his title.
The Sussexes left the UK in October 2019 and stayed at a friend’s house in Canada for an extended family break. They then flew to California, and in January 2020 and announced they would be stepping back from the working Royal family.
They have since bought their own home in Montecito, with a mortgage, where they live with their two children.
The Duchess is understood to have begun the process of applying for UK citizenship during her short time in Britain, but she did not complete it. She remains a US citizen and the children are reported to have dual citizenship.
US immigration policy states that “any applicant who has any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign state must renounce the title or the position”.
The Telegraph, London
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