Prince Harry‘s visa row has intensified after campaigners seized upon remarks made by the US ambassador to Britain. Jane Hartley said previously that the Duke of Sussex would not be deported from the United States while Joe Biden was president.
Harry admitted taking cocaine in his bestselling memoir, Spare, and now faces questions as to how he was able to move to the US, where a visa application can be blocked if an applicant admits to illicit drug use.
The US ambassador’s comment has been cited by Washington DC based think tank, the Heritage Foundation, as it seeks release of Harry’s visa records. It wants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to open the file under US Freedom of Information laws.
Ms Hartley told Sky News that the Biden administration would not deport Harry during an interview with the broadcaster in March. She said: “It’s not going to happen in the Biden administration.”
Her remark came after Republican nominee for US President Donald Trump warned he may deport Prince Harry if he is found to have lied on his visa application. He told Daily Express US that Harry “would be on his own” if it were down to him.
It is understood that Harry’s visa documents have been handed over to a judge in the US. A court filing seen by Newsweek read: “Defendant the US Department of Homeland Security respectfully informs the court that it has complied with the court’s March 7, 2024, order by submitting declarations with attachments for ex parte in camera [in private] review”.
The Heritage Foundation described Ms Hartley’s comment as “extraordinary” and in its court filing maintained the DHS said on information would be released “without acknowledging what Prince Harry’s immigration status is or tipping [its] hand as to what it is”.
Campaigners from the think tank allege Ms Hartley spoke publicly about some of the details it wants to be made public. A statement reported by the Telegraph and attributed to the think tank said: “Ambassador Hartley categorically stated that the Duke of Sussex will not be deported by the Biden Administration.
“Thus, the Executive Branch has now categorically stated that, regardless of future circumstances, they will decline to deport the Duke of Sussex – even in the most extreme of cases”.
It added that her comments “dramatically enhance the already compelling public interest in disclosure” and by speaking publicly Ms Hartley had effectively repudiated the Biden administration’s case for refusing to release the information.
The Heritage Foundation is quoted as saying: “Ambassador Hartley’s statement cannot be dismissed as uninformed or idle polite speculation or conversational puffery”.
It added: “Ambassador Hartley knew full well that the question had media and political salience, and yet she still spoke directly to the issues being litigated in this case by answering the question”.
The Biden administration to date has refused to make Prince Harry’s application public. The Duke has lived in the United States for almost four years, having moved to California in June 2020 with his wife Meghan Markle and son, Prince Archie. Their daughter, Princess Lilibet was born in 2021.
