US President Donald Trump has said he has no plans to deport Prince Harry from the US amid a legal battle over his immigration status.
‘I don’t want to do that,’ Trump said on Friday. ‘I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.’
Recall Harry’s immigration status is the subject of a lawsuit in Washington DC.
Conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation had alleged that he may have concealed illegal drug use that should have denied him a US visa.
In his memoir, Spare, he detailed how he took cocaine several times as a teenager and experimented with cannabis and mushrooms.
Heritage cited his own admissions in its filing against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as it sought to have Harry’s visa records released.
Then, it was suggested that Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, gave Harry preferential treatment when he relocated to California after ‘Megxit’—when he and Meghan bowed out of royal duties altogether.
The think tank previously tried to seek the disclosure of Harry’s visa papers via US Customs and Border Protection, which said it needed the Duke of Sussex’s permission to release them.
Meanwhile, it seems Trump has had a change of mind, having previously suggested last March that he could deport the Duke.
He told GB News, ‘We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action.’
The US Department of State says that convictions for drug offences can make visa applicants ineligible.
Heritage had sought to obtain the information from the DHS via freedom of information requests before bringing its case to court. Harry is not a party in the lawsuit.
This week, Judge Carl Nichols asked the DHS to provide details of redactions it could make in Harry’s visa records in what has been interpreted as a strong suggestion the documents could be made public, to a degree.
Judge Nichols had previously ruled on September 9 that the secret records should remain private.
Harry’s immigration status, whether he is on a regular or diplomatic visa, or a green card signifying permanent residency – is not known.