WASHINGTON: Prince Harry has been urged to leave the United States following criticism of the country and its president, Donald Trump, with a conservative think-tank calling for his “self-deportation”.
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank, has been leading efforts to make the Duke of Sussex’s immigration records public, citing his admission of past drug use in his 2023 memoir Spare.
The organisation’s lawyer, Samuel Dewey, stated that if Prince Harry dislikes the country and its leader, he should return to the United Kingdom.
“He’s in a country he clearly hates,” Dewey said as quoted by the Daily Mail. “He’s clearly furious at the American voters and attacking them for the result of the 2024 election. Harry should just go home.”
The visa row began when Harry revealed in Spare that he had used cocaine, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms before moving to the US in 2020.
Under US immigration law, admitting to past drug use can be grounds for denial of entry, raising questions about whether Harry received special treatment.
The Heritage Foundation has filed multiple lawsuits demanding access to Harry’s immigration records, arguing that the public has a right to know whether he declared his drug use on his visa application.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released heavily redacted records in response to a court request from District Judge Carl Nichols but maintained that all documents were “categorically exempt from disclosure”.
Dewey contends that there are inconsistencies between DHS and State Department files, claiming that if Harry had admitted drug use or entered on a diplomatic visa, this would be evident in the records.
“If he’d say ‘I used drugs’ or was on a diplomatic visa, that would be in the DHS files,” Dewey said as quoted by the Daily Mail. “Then you wouldn’t have this situation where the judge says, ‘I don’t have the full story’.”
The lawyer also criticised Harry for allegedly making veiled remarks against Trump during a speech at the Invictus Games earlier this year, where the prince condemned “weak moral character in the world”.
Judge Nichols previously ruled in September 2024 that there was no strong public interest in disclosing the Duke’s immigration records. However, the Heritage Foundation has continued to push for further legal action.
In an interview with GB News in March 2023, Trump himself weighed in on the controversy, stating that Harry should not receive special privileges.
“No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action,” he said.
