Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images
As it turns out, there may be some unintended consequences to telling the world that you once got so high on magic mushrooms that you thought Courteney Cox’s toilet had turned into a head, which then talked to you as you were peeing in it.
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry admitted to doing various recreational drugs including marijuana, cocaine, and several psychedelics. The British royal probably didn’t think this was a big deal, as he is not an elected official, we’re well past the “I didn’t inhale” era, and he spilled lots of far juicier gossip in the book.
But in March 2023, two months after his memoir was released, the Heritage Foundation raised concerns that Harry may have lied on his visa application when he moved to the U.S. in 2020, responding to questions about current and past drug use that all applicants must answer. The conservative think tank behind Project 2025 tried to obtain Harry’s immigration records under the Freedom of Information act. The Department of Homeland Security denied the request, so the Heritage Foundation sued.
Now, after a lengthy legal battle, Harry’s records are set to be released. On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled in favor of the Heritage Foundation, ordering the Department of Homeland Security to release redacted versions of Harry’s immigration documents by the end of the day on Tuesday.
Theoretically, Prince Harry could be in trouble with immigration authorities if he lied on his application, as CBS News explains:
Admission of drug use can lead to visa applications being rejected, but immigration officers have discretion to make their final decisions on a number of factors. Lying on visa applications can lead to lifetime bans on entering the U.S..
But it doesn’t seem very likely that Harry, who lives in California with his American wife, Meghan Markle, and their two young children, is going to be deported.
The Heritage Foundation said all along that it was pursuing Prince Harry’s files to make a broader point about the Department of Homeland Security allegedly giving certain people preferential treatment under the Biden administration, as CNN reported:
Attorneys for the Heritage Foundation see the case as part of a larger effort to uncover non-compliance with the law by DHS in different areas – including accusations from Republican lawmakers that DHS is “deliberately refusing to enforce the Country’s immigration laws and is responsible for the current crisis at the border,” court filings read.
“This is a case that concerns Prince Harry, but what it’s focused on is DHS’s conduct,” Dewey previously said.
These comments were made in 2023, and obviously a lot has changed since then. The second Trump administration is already cracking down on immigration, with ICE even sweeping up some U.S. visa and green-card holders. Meanwhile, the president is floating the idea of a new “Trump gold card” visa program that would give “very high-level people” a new “route to citizenship” — if they pay about $5 million. So presumably highlighting the inequities of the U.S. immigration system is not a top conservative priority at the moment.
Immigration attorney Charles Kuck told CNN that he was “stunned” the judge allowed the release of Harry’s immigration files, and he does not think the prince will be booted from the U.S.
“Given that many of these facts were known about Harry before he filed for his green card, then I don’t think immigration is going to be able to revoke his green card,” Kuck said. “This is being done as a publicity stunt, not, I think, to ultimately take Harry’s green card away.”
And Trump himself is no longer interested in kicking the prince out of the country. Last year Trump said, somewhat vaguely, that U.S. authorities should take “appropriate action” if it turns out Harry lied on his immigration application. But last month Trump did a 180 when the New York Post asked if he still wants to deport Prince Harry.
“I don’t want to do that,” Trump answered. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”
Why did Trump change his tune? It’s unclear. Perhaps he doesn’t want to create any more family drama for King Charles ahead of his second state visit to the U.K. Or maybe Trump meant what he said, and for once people’s distaste for Meghan Markle is working in Prince Harry’s favor.
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