Prince Harry’s immigration documents may finally be made public now that he will no longer be protected by the Biden White House after Donald Trump’s surprising election victory.
A Trump presidency means the Heritage Foundation is more likely to win its long-running bid for the Duke of Sussex’s records, which has so far been blocked by the outgoing president’s administration.
Speaking to DailyMail.com after Trump’s historic victory, Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, said he believes there is now a “strong possibility” that the think tank could successfully appeal. success the decision.
Harry’s visa application was first questioned after he admitted in his 2023 memoir to using several drugs recreationally, something he would have been required to disclose in immigration documents.
A Trump presidency means the Heritage Foundation could now win its long bid to have Prince Harry’s visa records made public.
The right-wing think tank claimed that Harry’s confessions could have made him ineligible to enter the US and sued the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the agency, which oversees the immigration, refused to disclose a Freedom of Information request for Harry’s files.
In September, a judge ruled that the archives will remain private for now, a decision Heritage is now appealing.
“I think there’s a strong possibility that this could happen. It’s the president’s prerogative,” Gardiner said.
‘In addition, the new Secretary of Homeland Security could order a review of Harry’s immigration application.
“There are many things that could happen, but it would be in the best interest of the American people if the Trump administration released Prince Harry’s records for public scrutiny and Harry should be held accountable.”
According to Gardiner, the Biden White House ‘has done everything it can to protect Prince Harry and that protection will come to an end after the inauguration.’
‘Releasing Harry’s immigration records would send a very strong message about applying the rule of law equally to all.
‘There is a clear public interest in his release. “If Harry has nothing to hide, he should support the release of the records,” he added.
Gardiner predicted that the files will be made public next year and that there will be “growing calls” to do so from the Republican-controlled Congress.
The Duke of Sussex’s visa application was questioned after he admitted in his 2023 memoir to having used several drugs recreationally, which he would have been required to disclose in immigration documents. He is photographed with his wife Meghan Markle in London in 2022.
Trump has previously stated that he “would not protect” Prince Harry if he were president again.
The feud between Trump and Harry dates back to the 2016 election, when the former president called Meghan “disgusting” after she called him “divisive” and “misogynistic.”
In February, Trump said he “would not protect” Harry if he won a second term because he “betrayed the Queen.”
‘That is unforgivable. “I would be alone if it were up to me,” Trump said.
Harry spoke about using drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and magic mushrooms in his 2023 memoir, ‘Spare’, as well as his Netflix television series.
When asked about it in an interview with Nigel Farage, Trump said he would take “appropriate action” if Harry was found to have lied.
Trump’s son Eric has been more direct, saying his father would “happily” deport the duke and that Britain would not want him either.
Chris Edelson, a professor of government at American University, told DailyMail.com that “of course” Trump could impeach Harry.
“Not in a normal system, but ours is no longer normal,” he said.
“The president can do whatever he wants as long as the people accept it.”
But Michael Wildes, a New York-based immigration attorney who worked with former first lady Melania Trump to get her parents a green card, said the former president’s views on immigration were more astute than people might think. .
He said Trump had a “very sophisticated view of clients who come from important interests and certainly a member of the royal family would be treated in a more sophisticated way.”
“I could allow Harry to stay as a favor to King Charles,” he said. He may simply forgive the Prince for any domestic crimes.
Judge Carl Nichols (left) in March ordered the Department of Homeland Security to provide more information about why your immigration data should be kept secret. Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation led the freedom of information request
In a court decision handed down in September, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said the court agrees that Prince Harry’s “privacy interest outweighs any public interest.”
Judge’s ruling states Harry’s memoir included “intimate details of his life”
“I have personally worked with Mr. Trump on very sensitive issues in the past related to immigration and he literally has a card from Trump on these issues.”
Wildes, whose father was John Lennon’s immigration lawyer and managed to get him to stay in the United States in 1975 even though authorities began deportation proceedings over his marijuana conviction in the United Kingdom, said Harry would only be a few days old. to leave the United States if it was with a visa that was revoked.
But if Harry has a green card, he could face a special immigration trial in which he would be entitled to a “very strong defense,” Wildes said.
Melissa Chavin, an American immigration lawyer based in the United Kingdom, said it might be even easier for Trump to expel Harry from the country if he were in the United States on an A-1 visa, which is for heads of state.
Chavín said: “All Trump has to do is tell his State Department that we do not accept what the British government says about Harry.”
‘They might say this is only for working royals.
‘They could say that he is involved in espionage or terrorism or that it is contrary to foreign policy that he is using drugs and being in the country.
“They can make him persona non grata; they can do whatever they want and the determination is not reviewable.” Nobody can look at that.
‘If Trump wants to be super vindictive, he could do it. That’s the scary thing that could happen to Harry.
