(NewsNation) — Prince Harry’s U.S. visa application records are set to be released Tuesday, according to reports. Harry’s immigration status has come under fire after he admitted to previous recreational use of marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has been pushing for years for the release of Harry’s immigration paperwork through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The group sued the Department of Homeland Security for the documents, and a federal judge ruled in its favor Monday.
The DHS is expected to release a redacted version of Harry’s visa application by the end of Tuesday. The documents could reveal whether the Duke of Sussex disclosed his past drug use on his application.
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While drug use alone doesn’t disqualify someone from obtaining a U.S. visa, failure to disclose current or past drug use could lead to applications being rejected.
Monday’s decision follows a 2024 ruling by the same judge, who previously stated there was not enough public interest in releasing the documents. The Heritage Foundation contested that ruling.
Calls for Prince Harry’s immigration records
Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss the organization’s 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 U.S. immigration application.”
The Heritage Foundation alleged the DHS “may have improperly granted” Harry’s visa after he disclosed his past personal drug use in his memoir, “Spare.”
“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 matter, and it applies to everybody, and Prince Harry should be no exception at all.”
Prince Harry used drugs to cope with loss
Prince Harry currently lives in Montecito, California, with his wife, Meghan Markle. The couple moved to the United States in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties in the U.K.
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In his 2023 autobiography, Harry confessed to past drug use, writing, “Cocaine didn’t do anything for me,” and that “marijuana is different, that actually did help me.”
He has also openly discussed using psychedelics to cope with the grief of losing his mother, Princess Diana, at a young age.
Will Prince Harry be deported?
Gardiner said the Heritage Foundation is seeking all documents relating to Harry’s visa application but did not directly call for 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 stage.”
In February of 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.
However, Trump said last month 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.”
NewsNation’s Tom Palmer contributed to this report.
