Prince Harry has found himself at the centre of a row over his US visa with Donald Trump previously suggesting he could deport the Duke – and now the new US president-elect has made a move that could prove pivotal in the row
Prince Harry’s US visa row could take a new turn after a key ‘concerning’ move by new president-elect Donald Trump.
During his election campaign, Trump was outspoken in his opinion of the Sussexes with scathing words about them. And it appears the result of the election could prove to be life-changing for Harry and Meghan as the president-elect once suggested he would deport the Duke of Sussex from the country.It comes after Harry found himself in the centre of a row over his visa, which allows him to live in California. After admitting to using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his controversial memoir Spare, a lawsuit from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation argued that the US Government should release records about the Duke’s visa US application to show whether his drug use was disclosed. Prolific drug use can lead to applications being rejected.
Prince Harry has found himself in a row over his US visa (
Image:
Getty Images)
And now Trump’s latest move in appointing controversial South Dakota Governor Kristi Neom as head of the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of immigration, should “concern” Harry, according to the Daily Mail. Ms Neom is known to be a no-nonsense politician, who has been a long-term loyal supporter of Trump. She faced a huge backlash after releasing her memoir, when she revealed she shot dead her family dog after it became ‘untrainable’ and ‘dangerous’.
Earlier this year, Trump raged at the Biden administration for maintaining the privacy of Harry’s immigration application in order to “protect Harry.” He told the Express US : “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”
Trump with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (
AFP via Getty Images)
Days later he was also challenged on this stance on Harry during an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News. Mr Farage asked if there would be any “special privileges” for the prince, and the now president-elect said: “No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”
Digging deeper, Mr Farage asked: “Appropriate action? Which might mean…not staying in America?” Mr Trump responded: “Oh I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me. You would have thought they would have known this a long time ago.”
In September, a judge made a ruling in the case saying that Harry’s visa documents should remain private. However, the Heritage Foundation has made another court filing saying it was not granted access to private submissions made to the judge by the Biden administration.
The lawsuit was originally brought by the Heritage Foundation after a Freedom of Information request for the Duke’s records was rejected by the Department for Homeland Security (DHS). In his bombshell memoir, Harry confessed that cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.” He also recounts an experience with magic mushrooms, saying: “I stared at the bin. It stared back. ‘What-staring? ‘ Then it became… a head. I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin.”
US visa applications specifically ask the individual about current and past drug use, which can have a detrimental impact on the progress of the application. Prolific drug use can lead to applications being rejected, however, immigration officers use their discretion against a range of factors.
