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Prince Harry’s US visa ruling called ‘suspicious,’ expert says ‘it certainly appears that…’
An American think tank has labelled the ruling that the details of Prince Harry’s US visa application should remain private "suspicious.”
An American think tank has labelled the ruling that the details of Prince Harry’s US visa application should remain private "suspicious.” Conservative group The Heritage Foundation took legal action against the US government in an attempt to force the Duke of Sussex’s documents into the public eye.
On Monday, US judge Carl Nichols said in a ruling, "The public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records."
‘The Prince Harry scandal just got a lot more suspicious’
Mike Howell, the executive director of the think tank's Oversight Project, has now told Newsweek, "The Prince Harry scandal just got a lot more suspicious.”
Howell continued, "While our case is far from over as we explore appeal, I'd say that these very curious redactions point to something serious afoot. President Trump has already suggested that Prince Harry will be deported next year - and the case for that just got a lot more compelling! Americans deserve an immigration system with both secure borders and also fairly applied rules for high-profile immigrants like Harry."
"It certainly appears that Harry was given special treatment... and now we know it for something so serious that it involves extensive redactions. Americans will know the full story soon enough... Perhaps, Mr and Mrs Markle will tell us what's beneath the redactions on their next Netflix special,” Howell added.
The think tank had previously expressed its concerns over Harry’s confession of taking drugs in his memoir, Spare. In the book, Harry wrote that cocaine "didn’t do anything for me", but "marijuana is different... that actually really did help me.”
Harry would be required to fill out a form asking if he had ever used illegal drugs while applying for his residency permit in the United States. However, talking to GB News, Melissa Chavin from Chapman Immigration Law Office previously said that the Duke is likely to hold an A1 visa, which is typically owned by ambassadors, heads of state and members of the royal family.
Chavin said that as a result, Harry would be in the country "on something that none of us see,” which is an "uncommon and rare" visa.
The Heritage Foundation stated that drug use "generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry" to the US. But judge Nichols said on Monday, "Like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status."
