Donald Trump has suggested that Prince Harry could be deported from the US under his leadership if the royal family is found to have falsified information on his visa form.
The former president, 77, spoke to TV presenter Nigel Farage GB Newswhere Trump suggested the Duke of Sussex would not be given “special privileges” if he lied about his drug use in his visa application.
Prince Harry, who has been living in America since 2020, currently lives with his wife and his two children Archie and Lilibet in a nine-bedroom Montecito mansion.
In the prince’s autobiography ‘Spare’, he revealed that he had previously used drugs, but under US law this would normally be grounds for rejecting a visa application.
In the book he admitted to using cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
Donald Trump has hinted that if he were re-elected president later this year, Prince Harry could face potential consequences regarding his residency
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrived in the US in March 2020 and lives with his American wife Meghan and two children in Montecito, California
During the interview, which will be broadcast in full on British television on Tuesday, Farage asked Trump whether Harry should enjoy “special privileges” if it came to light that he was not telling the truth.
“We’ll have to see if they know anything about the drugs, and if he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action,” Trump responded.
‘Appropriate action? What could mean… that I don’t stay in America?’ Farage asked.
‘Oh, I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me. You’d think they would have known this a long time ago,” Trump responded.
The former president previously said he ‘would not protect’ Harry because he had ‘betrayed the Queen’. Trump has also said that if he wins the November election, Harry would “be on his own.”
Harry has admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the past and once said that cannabis helped heal the trauma of his mother’s death.
The Duke said taking ayahuasca, the psychedelic drug, made him realize his mother wanted him to be “happy”.
It was in the news again after Harry’s February interview with Good Morning America, where the issue of seeking US citizenship was raised.
“American citizenship is a thought that crosses my mind, but certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now,” he said.
Anyone applying for a visa to live and work in America must answer “yes” or “no” to the question, “Are you or have you ever been a drug user or addict?”
Harry’s US visa application in March 2020 could show he checked the ‘no’ box on questions about his drug use, The Heritage Foundation claims.
Farage was keen to highlight that Harry could be expelled from the United States as he teased his interview which was filmed at Mar-A-Lago on Monday.
Farage couldn’t resist the chance to hang out by the pool while at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago
During the half-hour interview, which will be broadcast in full on British television later on Tuesday, Farage asked Trump that Harry should enjoy “special privileges” if it emerged that he was not telling the truth.
US immigration authorities routinely ask about drug use on their visa applications, and this has been linked to travel problems for celebrities including Nigella Lawson, Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss.
Recognition of past drug use does not necessarily result in a visa rejection or a ban on people entering or staying in the country.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said it will need an additional two weeks to obtain Prince Harry’s immigration records while a federal judge weighs whether to make them public.
The department made the request in a court filing on Sunday, saying it needs more time to respond to Judge Carl Nichols’ order to provide more information about why his immigration records should be kept secret.
The conservative Heritage Foundation is seeking the release of the documents to discover whether Harry lied about the most important document.
“Defendant has begun the search, but the search and review of the files has taken longer than expected,” DHS attorneys wrote in the filing.
They also said other government agencies may have to review the documents before they can be turned over to the judge.
The Heritage Foundation is suing the Department of Homeland Security to release details of Harry’s immigration status. On Sunday, DHS attorneys asked for more time to comply with a judge’s order to provide more information about why he wouldn’t release the documents.
The DHS has argued that releasing Harry’s data would be an invasion of the duke’s privacy
“Thus, having demonstrated good cause, Defendant respectfully requests an additional fourteen days, through April 4, 2024, to comply with the court’s order,” they wrote.
The filing is the latest twist in the legal battle over the Duke of Sussex and his immigration status.
Nile Gardiner, who is leading the request for the Heritage Foundation, said it’s a matter of making sure no one gets special treatment.
“Once again, Harry has publicly admitted to extensive illegal drug use,” he said wrote recently.
‘What does this mean for us? That Harry appears to have received special treatment: DHS looked the other way if the Prince answered truthfully, or it looked the other way if the Prince lied on his visa application.
Nile Gardiner, who is leading the Heritage Foundation’s freedom of information request, said it was a matter of ensuring no one received special treatment
In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America show on Friday, Harry said he is considering becoming a US citizen
“Both actions would be wrong.”
DHS declined to release any information to “protect the Duke’s privacy,” and the case is now in federal court while Judge Nichols decides the best course of action.
After a hearing last month, he told DHS that the arguments were “insufficiently detailed” to make a ruling.
Prince Harry’s book, Spare
“After reviewing the parties’ written submissions and hearing oral arguments on the requests, the court concludes that in camera review is necessary to determine whether the disputed documents fall within the scope of the claimed reliefs,” he wrote in an order.
And he gave TThe Biden administration has until March 21 to submit ‘statements detailing what information it is withholding and what specific harm would result from its disclosure.’
During the February hearing, government lawyers argued that Harry’s memoirs proved nothing.
John Bardo, of the Department of Homeland Security, told the court: “Just because you say something in a book doesn’t make it true.”
People sometimes put things in books to sell more copies, he argued.
Lawyers for Heritage also introduced a transcript of the GMA interview on February 16, 2024 “in which the Duke of Sussex discusses the potential pursuit of U.S. citizenship.”
They said it helped their case for the release of his immigration files.
In a court filing, Heritage said: ‘Widespread and ongoing media reporting has raised questions about whether DHS properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of his publicly identifying the essential elements of a number of drug offenses has given in.’