The Department of Homeland Security said it would take two more weeks to search Prince Harry’s immigration records while a federal judge determines whether or not they should be made public.
The department made its request in a court filing Sunday, saying it needed more time to respond to Judge Carl Nichols’ order to provide more information about why its immigration information should remain secret.
The conservative Heritage Foundation is calling for the documents to be released amid questions over whether Harry lied about his drug use on his visa application.
“The defendant began the search, but the search and review of the records took longer than anticipated,” DHS attorneys wrote in the filing.
They also said other government agencies may need to review the documents before they can turn them over to the judge.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrived in the United States in March 2020 and lives with his American wife Meghan and their two children in Montecito, California.
The Heritage Foundation is suing the Department of Homeland Security to release details of Harry’s immigration status. On Sunday, DHS lawyers asked for more time to comply with the judge’s order to provide more information about why they did not want to release the records.
“Thus, having established good cause, Defendant respectfully requests fourteen additional days, up to and including April 4, 2024, to comply with the court’s order,” they wrote.
This case constitutes the latest twist in the legal battle concerning the Duke of Sussex and his immigration status.
He entered the United States in March 2020 and lives with his American wife Meghan and their two children in Montecito, California.
However, in his memoir “Spare,” he admitted to using cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
U.S. immigration authorities regularly ask questions about drug use on visa applications. British celebrities including singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss have faced difficulties.
But acknowledging past drug use does not necessarily result in automatic rejection.
In this context, the Heritage Foundation filed a Freedom of Information request last year to shed light on what happened.
Nile Gardiner, who initiated the request, said it was to ensure no one received special treatment.
“Again, Harry has publicly admitted to using numerous illegal drugs,” he said. wrote recently.
“What are we subjecting to this? Harry appears to have received special treatment: DHS looked the other way if the prince answered honestly, or it looked the other way if the prince lied on his visa application.
Nile Gardiner, who leads the Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information request, said this was to ensure no one received special treatment.
In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday, Harry said he was considering becoming a U.S. citizen.
Last month, John Bardo of the US Department of Homeland Security told the court that Harry’s book “Spare” was not “sworn testimony or evidence” that he was taking drugs.
“Either action would be wrong.”
DHS has refused to release any information, in order to “protect the Duke’s privacy,” and the case is now in federal court as Judge Nichols decides the best course of action.
After a hearing last month, he told DHS that his arguments were “not detailed enough” for him to make a decision.
“Having considered the written arguments of the parties and hearing oral argument on the motions, the court concludes that an in camera review is necessary to determine whether the documents in dispute fall within the scope of the claimed exemptions,” a- he wrote in a prescription.
And he gaveThe Biden administration has until March 21 to submit “statements that detail, in particular, the documents it is withholding and the particular harm that would result from their public disclosure.”
At the February hearing, government lawyers argued that Harry’s memoir proved nothing.
John Bardo of the Department of Homeland Security told the court: “Just saying something in a book doesn’t make it true. »
People sometimes put things in books simply to sell more copies, he argued.
Lawyers for Heritage also presented a transcript of the February 16, 2024 GMA interview “in which the Duke of Sussex discusses a possible pursuit of U.S. citizenship.”
They said it added to their case seeking disclosure of his immigration records.
In a court filing, Heritage said: “Extensive and continuing media coverage has raised the question of whether DHS properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of the fact that he publicly admitted essential elements of a certain number of drug-related offenses.”
