Campaigners demanding Prince Harry's U.S. visa be made public submit 'extraordinary' comments by Joe Biden's U.K. ambassador to judge in new bid to make his immigration status public

Campaigners trying to force the release of Prince Harry’s U.S. visa records have submitted to a judge what they called 'extraordinary’ comments by Joe Biden’s ambassador to the U.K.

Ambassador Jane Hartley recently said that Harry would never be deported from the U.S. while Biden is president.

The Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, is currently suing Biden's Department of Homeland Security for access to the royal's immigration papers.

It argued the ambassador's remarks undermined the Biden administration's bid to keep the documents secret and backed up the case for disclosing them.

In a legal filing of over 100 pages in Washington D.C. the think tank said Ambassador Hartley's remarks in a March 25 interview on Sky News were “extraordinary’ and provided a transcript to Judge Carl Nichols.

Donald Trump said that 'action' could be taken against the Duke of Sussex if he is found to have lied about taking drugs on his US visa application

It came as Judge Nichols is reviewing records relating to Harry's immigration status and deciding whether they should be made public.

'Ambassador Hartley’s statements dramatically enhance the already compelling public interest in disclosure,' the Heritage Foundation said in its filing.

It said the ambassador 'selectively disclosed' details while the DHS was 'simultaneously vigorously resisting any disclosure in this matter' and that 'should be considered' by the judge.

The Heritage Foundation wants Harry's visa records released to see if he confirmed on his application that he had used drugs, and if he was given any special treatment by immigration authorities. 

In his memoir Spare, which was published after he moved to America in 2020, he admitted having previously used drugs including marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.

U.S. visa applicants are required to make a disclosure about any history of drug use, which can impact their application.

Lying on an application can result in penalties including deportation.

US Ambassador Jane Hartley laughed off the suggestion Harry could be deported, telling Sky News: 'It's not gonna happen in the Biden administration'

Last month, Donald Trump said if Harry was found to have lied on his visa application about drug-taking he would seek to take 'appropriate action' if he becomes president again.

Trump declined to rule out Harry being deported from the United States.

When asked about Trump's comments Ambassador Hartley said that was 'not going to happen in the Biden administration.'

In its filing the Heritage Foundation said the DHS had always maintained that 'none of the information that we have can be released without acknowledging what Prince Harry’s immigration status is or tipping our hand as to what it is.'

Interviewed for GB News by Nigel Farage last Tuesday, Donald Trump said Harry should not get 'special privileges'

It went on: 'But on March 25 2024, the Hon. Jane Hartley, the United States Ambassador to the Court of Saint James’s did just that. 

'Hartley spoke directly not only to the Duke of Sussex’s current immigration status, but HRH’s future immigration status as well.'

The think tank argued that undermined the DHS argument that the information must be kept secret.

It said: 'Ambassador Hartley spoke directly to some of the very information concerning the Duke of Sussex’s immigration status sought by Plaintiffs’ FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) Request - information DHS has repeatedly told this Court must be kept confidential.'

In the filing Harry was referred to as 'HRH Prince Henry Charles Albert David George, the Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton, and Baron Kilkeel K.C.V.O.’s (“HRH” or “Duke of Sussex”).' 

Harry has said he is considering becoming a US citizen

Nile Gardiner, Director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said: 'The US Ambassador to London’s arrogant remarks on Prince Harry are an extraordinary intervention by a senior U.S. diplomat on an ongoing federal court case.

'The US Ambassador’s remarks clearly spoke directly not only to the Duke of Sussex’s current immigration status, but to Prince Harry’s future immigration status as well.'

He added: 'The Biden Administration has gone to great lengths to protect Prince Harry, and has even ruled out the possible deportation of the Duke of Sussex if he lied on his U.S. immigration application and violated US immigration law.

'The Biden Administration has acted without transparency and accountability to the American people regarding the Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information request relating to Prince Harry’s US immigration application. They should release Harry’s immigration records to the American people.'

District Judge Carl Nichols who is presiding over the case in Washington D.C.

SPARE, the memoir of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, was published globally on January 10, 2023

Earlier this week, the DHS handed over documents relating to Harry' visa to Judge Nichols.

The judge had ordered the DHS to provide more information about why his immigration details should not be released.

The DHS said that it complied with the order by submitting 'declarations with attachments for ex parte in camera [in private] review' via an encrypted link.

U.S. immigration authorities routinely ask about drug use on visa applications.

In the past British celebrities including singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss have run into difficulties.

But acknowledging past drug use does not necessarily result in automatic rejection.

The DHS said from the beginning that it could not release the Duke's visa application, writing in a court filing: 'Courts consistently hold that a person's visa or immigration status is private, personal information exempt from disclosure.

'Specifically, the records would reveal the types of documents that Prince Harry used to travel to the United States, his admission status, and any immigration, or non-immigration, benefits that he may have sought.'

After a hearing in February, Judge Nichols told the DHS its arguments were 'insufficiently detailed' for him to make a ruling.