Prince Harry’s at risk of deportation over drug use

The American public has a “right to know” whether Prince Harry declared his past drug use on his US visa application, one Washington-based commentator told Express.co.uk.

Nile Gardiner’s comments come after The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Homeland Security on Monday.

The conservative think tank is calling for the immediate publication of the Duke’s visa records after he admitted to drug use in his tell-all memoir, Spare.

US immigration law regards any failure to declare drug use to immigration officials as a serious violation that can result in deportation and being permanently barred from applying for citizenship.

The Duke of Sussex revealed he had taken cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms in the past, which has prompted the Heritage Foundation to investigate whether he fell foul of US immigration law when moving stateside.

Gardiner, who is aligned with The Heritage Foundation, claimed the case is watertight.

“There’s a clear public interest in ensuring US immigration law is applied equally to everyone who applies to the United States. The principle is fundamentally important here. No one should be above the law. No one should receive preferential treatment. Im migration law should be applied effectively in all cases,” the commentator said.

Harry’s high-profile status makes the public interest argument particularly strong, Gardiner claimed.

He explained: “Harry is a huge public figure. He has a significant status on the international stage. He’s increasingly a political figure as well.”

Gardiner continued: “He has revealed widespread and extensive drug use in his memoirs.

“And the public right to know if he was honest and truthful and honest in his application.”

Secondly, Nile added, the public has a right to know whether Harry received preferential treatment.

“American and British people do not want to see anyone acting with impunity or preferential treatment or favours,” the Washington-based commentator said, adding: “The American people have a right to know”.

Don’t miss…
Coronation will ‘act as pressure cooker’ for Harry’s feud with Firm[LATEST]
‘Boring’ Meghan and Harry told to ‘give up and move back to UK'[LATEST]
Meghan Markle ‘will be haunted’ by decision not to reconcile with dad[LATEST]

What the lawsuit entails

The new court filing reads: “Widespread and continuous media coverage has surfaced the question of whether DHS [Department of Homeland Security] properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of the fact that he has publicly admitted to the essential elements of a number of drug offences in both the United States and abroad.

“United States law generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry to the United States. Intense media coverage has also surfaced the question of whether DHS may have improperly granted the Duke of Sussex a waiver to enter the Country on a non-immigrant visa given his history of admissions to the essential elements of drug offences.

“Finally, the media coverage has surfaced the question of whether DHS’ decision to admit the Duke of Sussex into the United States should be reconsidered in light of the Duke of Sussex’s most recent admissions to the essential elements of numerous drug offenses both here and abroad in his 2023 memoir, Spare.”

The lawyer bringing the case on behalf of The Heritage Foundation previously told Express.co.uk that he is agnostic over whether Harry should or shouldn’t get a waiver based on the facts, but it’s a matter of principle that the truth comes out.

“The Heritage Foundation is seriously concerned about migration policy, and the laws on the books being properly enforced. That’s what led to this,” lawyer Samuel Dewey said at the time.

Dewey continued: “We had a concern that Prince Harry had preferential treatment because there are certain grounds for inadmissibility into the country regardless of your visa applications; you can’t come into the country without meeting certain criteria and one of them relates to drug use.”

It’s not known exactly what questions Harry was asked when applying for his US visa, because it is not yet clear which visa he received.

If it turns out that Harry was given preferential treatment, this has ramifications that go beyond Harry’s visa status, the lawyer suggested.

“When you’re talking about immigration it’s often a zero sum game. If resources were spent processing and giving a special favour to Prince Harry because of his status, they may have been taking away from an applicant who didn’t have any potential grounds for inadmissibility and has a very good case to come here,” he said.

Source: Read Full Article