Prince Harry's visa details will not be made public due to his 'right to privacy'

Prince Harry

Prince Harry's US visa details will not be made public due to his "right to privacy".

PA
Svar Nanan-Sen

By Svar Nanan-Sen


Published: 10/07/2023

- 09:46

The Duke of Sussex lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children

Prince Harry's US visa details will not be made public due to his "right to privacy".

The US government has refused to publish details of the Duke of Sussex's visa application despite the royal admitting to taking drugs in the past.


The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has turned down a Freedom of Information Act request on the matter for the second time.

The request was submitted by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank.

Prince Harry

Harry has publicly admitted to taking multiple drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms

PA

Harry has publicly admitted to taking multiple drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms.

In June, the DHS also refused to release immigration records regarding the Duke of Sussex.

They would not confirm whether they had records relating to Prince Harry requesting a waiver to enter the US.

Nile Gardiner, the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation issued a statement following the initial decision last month.

He tweeted following the DHS decision: "This week The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to confirm or deny whether or not they had records relating to the Duke of Sussex requesting a waiver in order to lawfully enter the country.

"This response to The Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request shows an appalling lack of transparency by the Biden Administration.

"There are only three possible ways in which the Duke of Sussex could have entered the United States on a visa: (1) Prince Harry disclosed the full extent of his drug use and received a waiver; (2) DHS blatantly ignored the law; or (3) Prince Harry lied on oath.

"To say, as DHS argue, that merely acknowledging whether a waiver exists would violate the Duke of Sussex’s privacy is to say: (1) it is private whether he has a waiver, which he must have if he complied with the law given that he currently resides in the United States; (2) it is private whether the government blatantly ignored the law in Prince Harry’s case; or (3) that there is a privacy interest in perjury.

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children

PA

"This argument makes no sense, but is not surprising coming from the zero transparency Biden Administration.

"The Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to stonewall the Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information request are unacceptable, and we will be contesting their position.

"We expected to have to fight every step of this case in federal court and will continue to press for transparency and accountability for the American people.

"Ultimately the release of Prince Harry’s US immigration records will be decided in federal court by a federal judge.

"We are determined to prevail in a matter of clear public interest, on an important issue that matters to the American people: the application and enforcement of America’s immigration laws without fear or favour."

You may like