(NewsInsights.org) – After extensive legal wrangling, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed handing over visa paperwork pertaining to His Royal Highness (HRH) Prince Henry Charles Albert David George of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, to District Judge Carl Nichols in a private meeting in chambers on April 4. The judge ordered an in-camera review of the documents to determine whether the DHS stands on solid legal footing in denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request based on justifiable exemptions.
On January 10, 2023, Prince Harry, as the media calls him more familiarly, released a blockbuster memoir entitled “Spare” that included details about his illicit drug use, including within the US. Two months later, on March 8, 2023, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, filed a FOIA request with the DHS, asking the agency to produce all immigration documents and applications filed by the British royal when he moved to the US with his wife, Megan Markle.
Heritage Foundation members reasoned that DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had barred entry into the US of other individuals from the United Kingdom who admitted to using substances, including marijuana, cocaine, and psilocybin. They questioned whether Prince Harry had answered truthfully on his visa paperwork and, if so, why the DHS and CBP had seemingly made an exception in Prince Harry’s case. The think tank argued the American public had a right to know how its government was handling immigration matters regardless of an applicant’s status.
After receiving form letter denials and responses to its request, the organization filed suit against the DHS in the DC District Court for FOIA violations on May 1, 2023. In August, the DHS petitioned for a summary judgment in its favor, claiming, “Any information responsive to [the Heritage Foundation’s] request is exempt from disclosure.”
DHS lawyers provided a 31-page supporting memorandum stating that federal law required the agency to protect a visa applicant’s personal privacy, exempting the forms from FOIA requests and public disclosure. DHS and Heritage Foundation attorneys made oral arguments before Judge Nichols on February 23, 2024, causing him to order the government to submit the relevant documents to allow him to examine them in the privacy of his chambers.
Nichols hasn’t said when or if he would render a summary judgment in the case.
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