Donald Trump has suggested Prince Harry may be deported from the US under his leadership if the Duke is found to have falsified information on his visa form.
The former president, 77, spoke with TV presenter Nigel Farage on GB News, where he suggested the royal would not get ‘special privileges’ if he lied about his drug use.
Harry, who has lived in the US since 2020, lives in a nine-bedroom Montecito mansion with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children Archie and Lilibet.
In the prince’s autobiography ‘Spare’ he revealed he previously took drugs, which under US law would normally be grounds for a visa application to be rejected.
In the book he admitted to using to cocaine, cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
Farage was keen to push the fact that Harry could be kicked out of the United States while teasing his interview that was filmed at Mar-A-Lago on Monday
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrived in the U.S. in March 2020 and lives with his American wife Meghan and two children in Montecito, California
During the interview, to be broadcast in full on British television on Tuesday, Farage asked Trump if Harry should enjoy ‘special privileges’ should it come to light he did not tell the truth.
‘We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action,’ Trump responded.
‘Appropriate action? Which might mean…not staying in America?’ Farage asked.
‘Oh I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me. You would have thought they would have known this a long time ago,’ Trump replied.
Previously, the former president has said he ‘wouldn’t protect’ Harry because he had ‘betrayed the Queen’. Trump has also said that if he wins the election in November then Harry ‘would be on his own’.
Harry has admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the past, once saying that cannabis helped heal the trauma of his mother’s death.
The Duke said that using ayahuasca, the psychedelic drug, he realized that his mother wanted him to be ‘happy’.
It was back in the news following Harry’s February interview with Good Morning America where the issue of him seeking US citizenship was raised.
‘The American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that’s a high priority for me right now,’ he said.
Anyone applying for a visa to live and work in America has to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question: ‘Are you or have you ever been a drug abuser or addict?’
Harry’s US visa application in March 2020 could show he ticked the ‘no’ box on questions about his drug use, The Heritage Foundation claims.
Donald Trump has hinted that if he were to be re-elected as president later this year, Prince Harry might face potential consequences regarding his residency
Farage couldn’t resist the chance to hang out by the pool while at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago
During the half hour long interview, to be broadcast in full on British television later on Tuesday, Farage asked Trump Harry should enjoy ‘special privileges’ should it come to light he did not tell the truth
The US immigration authorities routinely ask about drug use on its visa applications, and it has been linked to travel headaches for celebrities, including Nigella Lawson, Amy Winehouse, and Kate Moss.
Acknowledgement of past drug use doesn’t necessarily result in a visa rejection or bar people from entering or staying in the country.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said it needed an extra two weeks to hunt down Prince Harry’s immigration records as a federal judge weighs whether or not they should be made public.
The department made its 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 details should be kept secret.
The conservative Heritage Foundation is seeking the release of the documents to discover whether Harry lied on the all-important document.
‘Defendant has begun the search but searching for and reviewing the records has taken longer than anticipated,’ wrote D.H.S. lawyers in the filing.
They also said other government agencies may need to review the documents before they can be handed 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 lawyers asked for more time to comply with a judge’s ordered to provide more information about why it did not want to release the records
The DHS have argued the release of Harry’s records would be an invasion of the Duke’s privacy
‘Thus, having established good cause, defendant respectfully requests an additional fourteen days, up to and including 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 spearheading the request for the Heritage Foundation, said it was a matter of ensuring that no one got special treatment.
‘Again, Harry has publicly admitted to extensive illegal drug use,’ he wrote recently.
‘What do we submit this means? That Harry seems to have received special treatment: the 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 spearheading the Heritage Foundation freedom of information request, said it was a matter of ensuring that no one got special treatment
In an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America show on Friday, Harry said he was considering becoming a US citizen
‘Either action would be wrong.’
D.H.S. refused to release any information, in order to ‘protect the Duke’s privacy,’ and the matter is now in federal court as Judge Nichols decides on the best course of action.
After a hearing last month, he told D.H.S. its arguments were ‘insufficiently detailed’ for him to make a ruling.
Prince Harry’s book, Spare
‘Having reviewed the parties’ written submissions and heard oral argument on the motions, the court concludes that in camera review is necessary to determine whether the records in dispute come within the scope of the claimed exemptions,’ he wrote in an order.
And he gave the Biden administration until March 21 to submit ‘declarations that detail, with particularity, the records it is withholding and the particular harm that would arise from public disclosure of them.’
In the February hearing, government lawyers argued that Harry’s memoir proved nothing.
John Bardo, for the Department of Homeland Security, told the court: ‘Just saying something in a book doesn’t make it true.’
People put things in books sometimes just 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 potentially seeking United States citizenship.’
They said it added to their case seeking the release of his immigration files.
In a court filing Heritage said: ‘Widespread and continuous media coverage has surfaced the question of whether DHS properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of the fact that he has publicly admitted to the essential elements of a number of drug offenses.’