Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are scaling their financial wealth by signing contracts with media giants and other commercial investments. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo)

The Biden administration has suffered a fresh blow in the ongoing court battle over Prince Harry's US immigration records. Judge Carl Nichols of the Federal D.C. District Court has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit detailed information about the records it is withholding and the specific harm that would result from their public disclosure.

The order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The organization is seeking to make Prince Harry's immigration files public, citing his admissions of past drug use in his memoir "Spare" and concerns about potential preferential treatment in the visa application process.

Nile Gardiner, the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, took to social media to discuss the development. "Today the Federal D.C. District Court ordered the DHS to submit 'to the Court in camera a declaration or declarations that detail, with particularity, the records it is withholding and the particular harm that would arise from public disclosure of them,'" Gardiner wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

 

He added, "This means the Court wants to see detailed information about the records in question for itself. It is important to note the Biden Administration repeatedly objected to the Court taking this step."

The Biden administration has been arguing against the release of Prince Harry's immigration papers, asserting that visa applicants have a right to privacy. However, The Heritage Foundation has countered that the prince undermined his right to privacy by "selling every aspect of his private life" through his memoir and other public disclosures.

During a hearing last month, DHS lawyers suggested that Prince Harry's claims about his drug use in "Spare" may not have been true and could have been included simply to sell books. "The book isn't sworn testimony or proof," John Bardo, a DHS lawyer, told the court. "Saying something in a book doesn't necessarily make it true."

The court's order requires DHS to provide detailed declarations explaining the specific harm that would arise from the public disclosure of the records in question. Judge Nichols stated that such a review is appropriate when "agency affidavits are insufficiently detailed to permit meaningful review of exemption claims," and when "the number of withheld documents is relatively small, and when the dispute turns on the contents of the withheld documents, and not the parties' interpretations of those documents."

The judge has given DHS until March 21 to submit the required declarations, which will be reviewed in camera, meaning the judge will conduct the review privately.

The controversy surrounding Prince Harry's immigration status has drawn the attention of former President Donald Trump, who suggested he might kick the Duke of Sussex out of the US if he wins a second term. Trump stated that he "wouldn't protect" Harry because he had "betrayed the Queen" and that if he wins the election in November, Harry "would be on his own."

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to the United States in the summer of 2020 after stepping down from their roles as senior members of the British royal family. They currently reside in Montecito, California, with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

As the court battle continues, the outcome of this case could have significant implications for Prince Harry's immigration status and the broader issue of transparency in the visa application process for high-profile individuals. The Heritage Foundation views the court's order as a win in their ongoing efforts to shed light on the matter, while the Biden administration maintains its position that the records should remain private.