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A campaigner suing the Department of Homeland Security to obtain Prince Harry’s immigration records has urged the prince to be ‘honest and truthful’ in disclosing how he got into the United States after admitting to taking drugs in his memoir.
Nile Gardiner, the Washington-based head of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said presiding judge Carl Nichols’ recent order for the DHS to hand over relevant records was an ‘encouraging development’ but urged the Duke of Sussex to be transparent.
Arguing it ‘ridiculous and ludicrous to argue against the release of immigration records on the grounds of protecting his privacy’, he told MailOnline there was a public interest in the US public seeing the records and commended former President Trump ‘supporting’ the release.
‘It’s our view that Prince Harry should be completely honest and truthful in applying to live in the United States,’ he said.
‘Prince Harry is a high-profile British figure who lives in the United States and we believe that everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of law in applying to live in the United States.
‘We see this issue as an important issue for everyone who believes in enforcement of US immigration law and for anyone who believes the importance of the US-UK special relationship as well.’
In the wake of the publication of Spare last year, right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation sued the DHS for access to Prince Harry’s files. The US routinely asks about drug use on its visa applications, though acknowledgement of past drug use does not necessarily bar people from entering or staying in the country.
Last month, ex-President Donald Trump (pictured during a party event on March 5 in Florida) said that he would not protect Harry if he were elected again in November
Since June, the Duke’s immigration status has been scrutinized after conservative group the Heritage Foundation sent a public-information request to the Department of Homeland Security for Harry’s records (pictured with Meghan Markle in British Columbia, February 14)
Nile Gardiner urged the prince to be ‘honest and truthful’, and stressed the public interest in the case
The comments come as Trump-appointed judge Carl Nichols on Thursday called for the DHS to hand over the records, asking the agency to provide declarations explaining the ‘particular harm’ of disclosing the application.
Judge Carl Nichols told the DHS that its arguments so far were ‘insufficiently detailed’ for him to make a decision.
The Heritage Foundation is also seeking the release of the documents as part of a Freedom of Information request it filed last year.
Nile Gardiner heralded the decision, urging the Biden administration to do more to ensure the records are made available in the name of ‘transparency and accountability from the United States government’.
‘There’s strong support among the American people for the release of Prince Harry’s immigration records,’ he said.
‘This case has become one of the most high-profile and significant immigration-related legal cases in recent US history and so a lot of Americans are following this case and there’s a great deal of public interest in the outcome.’
Mr Gardiner continued: ‘It’s very important that the American people can have faith in the immigration system and how it is applied.
‘Anyone who applies for a US visa has to be honest and truthful and we want to establish whether or not Prince Harry was honest and truthful in his application and whether US officials gave him preferential treatment.
‘These are important questions that need to be answered and the Biden administration has refused to answer any questions, which is why we sued them for the release of these records.’
Last week’s development followed a hearing in Washington in February in which Judge Nichols heard from DHS and the Heritage Foundation.
The foundation is seeking to release the material and establish whether the DHS applied leniency for the royal after he was allowed into the US after admitting to taking drugs in his memoir and in TV interviews.
The DHS has said the prince may have embellished claims made in Spare to ‘sell books’.
If the Duke did not tell the truth on his entry forms then he could be removed from the US or barred by a border agent.
In Washington, Judge Nichols stated that the Freedom of Information law authorised him to review ‘declarations and/or contested records in camera’.
Doing so would help him to determine whether any exemptions preventing the documents from being made public apply.
Judge Nichols said: ‘Having reviewed the parties’ written submissions and heard oral argument on the motions, the court concludes that in camera review is necessary to determine whether the records in dispute come within the scope of the claimed exemptions’.
He gave the DHS until March 21 to submit declarations that detail ‘the records it is withholding and the particular harm that would arise from public disclosure of them’, his order said.
Britain’s Prince Harry attends the featured session ‘women in media’ at the Austin Convention Center during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas
District Court Judge Carl Nichols was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump in 2018 but since then has not always gone along with the ex-president
‘Clearly there’s a lot of public interest in this,’ Mr Gardiner argued. ‘Immigration has become the number one issue in the US election, according to Gallup and so anything that’s immigration-related is important to the American people.’
‘I expect that this case is going to attract more and more attention from just ordinary Americans who want to see the rule of law applied.
‘It remains to be seen whether this particular case, generates, you know, more political debate.
‘But there is already intense public interest in the case and President Trump has already weighed in in favour of the release of Harry’s immigration records.’
The campaigner argued that the Biden administration was making an ‘assertion’ with its defence not to release the documents on grounds of protecting the prince’s privacy.
He argued that Prince Harry was ‘one of the most public figures in the world’ and ‘in the United States right now’, and cited ‘a number of high profile interviews where he talks about his own private life’.
Heritage has claimed in legal filings that Harry being so open about his private life means he has forfeited such a right.
‘Harry himself has gone to great lengths to discuss his own private life, including his drug use, which he outlined in Spare,’ Mr Gardiner explained.
During the hearing last month, lawyers for the DHS said that Harry’s claims about his drug use in ‘Spare’ may not have been true and may have been in there just to sell books.
‘The book isn’t sworn testimony or proof,’ John Bardo told the court. ‘Saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true.’
In its legal filing, the DHS said that the records at issue are ‘particularly sensitive’ because they would ‘reveal Harry’s (immigration) status in the United States.’
The DHS has claimed that Harry still has a right to privacy even though he is a celebrity.
‘The Biden administration should have an interest in enforcing the rule of law and it doesn’t make any difference whether someone is applying from the UK or any other part of the world, everyone should be subject to the same immigration laws,’ Mr Gardiner contested.
‘And it shouldn’t matter whether one is a prince or aristocrat. And that’s an important principle for the American people that everyone is treated equally. And I think that you know.’
The Duke of Sussex participates in the ‘women in media’ session at the Austin Convention Center during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 3, 2022 in London, England
The Duke of Sussex’s immigration status has been under scrutiny since conservative group the Heritage Foundation sent a public-information request to the Department of Homeland Security for Harry’s records.
That followed his admission in Spare that he had taken cocaine several times starting around age 17, in order ‘to feel. To be different.’ He also acknowledged using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
The issue is now back in the news following Harry’s February interview with Good Morning America where the issue of him seeking US citizenship was raised.
‘The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that’s a high priority for me right now,’ he said.
Harry moved to Southern California with Meghan and their young family in 2020 after they left royal life and embarked on new projects.
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