A conservative think tank, called the Heritage Foundation, is demanding that President Trump release Prince Harry‘s immigration file, following allegations that the Duke of Sussex may have lied about past drug use when emigrating from the UK.
In his 2023 memoir, “Spare,” Harry confessed to using cocaine, cannabis, and psychedelic mushrooms. Applicants for visas or green cards are typically required to disclose their history of drug use and can face serious consequences, including removal, if they are misleading.
However, a federal judge ruled against the disclosure of the prince’s application papers last year. The Heritage Foundation’s representatives are now seeking presidential intervention to unseal these records. “I’ll be urging the president to release Prince Harry’s immigration records and the president does have that legal authority to do that,” said Nile Gardiner, director of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
“It’s important because this is an issue of the rule of law, transparency and accountability. No one should be above the law,” Gardiner told The New York Post on Wednesday. “Donald Trump is ushering in a new era of strict border control enforcement, and you know, Prince Harry should be held fully to account as he has admitted to extensive illegal drug use,” he added. “My firm expectation is that action will be taken.”
The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in February last year, requesting access to Harry’s visa documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to determine whether he made false statements about drug use.
In his memoir, Harry admitted to trying cocaine for the first time as a 17-year-old “to feel different” following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He also revealed that he had consumed more cocaine since then.
Trump said in March 2024 that he would “have to see” if DHS was aware of the admission, which was revealed years after Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, settled in Montecito, California, with their children in January 2020. “If they know something about the drugs, and if he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action,” Trump promised at the time.
However, in September, DC US District Judge Carl Nichols sided with the DHS, stating, “The public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records.”
Heritage lawyer Samuel Dewey filed another motion in October to try to overturn the ruling, claiming that the publication of the immigration file “will help the public better understand how the Department conducts itself and how its officials exercise discretion.”
Gardiner also questioned whether Harry and Meghan had received “special treatment” for their liberal political advocacy, noting that in 2023, their Archewell Foundation donated $250,000 to first daughter Ashley Biden’s Philadelphia-based nonprofit for women affected by trauma.
Some former federal immigration employees have cast doubt on whether Harry’s alleged misrepresentations pose a risk to his stay in the US, pointing out that it’s unlikely he was asked directly about drug use when applying for the visa and that a waiver could likely clear up any material omissions.
