Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could move to Canada if the Duke of Sussex were to be deported from the US in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win, a critic has claimed.
Nile Gardiner, Director of Washington DC-based thinktank Heritage Foundation, said Harry would have to leave the United States if it emerged he lied on his immigration application.
Mr Gardiner was speaking about the possible implications of Mr Trump’s historic re-election for the prince, who lives in Montecito, California.
US visa applicants are asked about drug use, with the possibility that such an admission can lead to an application being rejected.
Harry admitted in his bestselling memoir, Spare, that he took recreational drugs in the past, including marijuana, cocaine, and magic mushrooms.
The Heritage Foundation tried to force the US government to release the prince’s records to check whether he disclosed his past use of drugs. It called into question whether the government had vetted Harry properly.
Judge Carl Nichols ruled in September that there was no strong public interest in disclosing Harry’s immigration records, arguing he has a “legitimate privacy interest” in his status.
Speculation has mounted as to what might happen to Harry’s case under a second Trump administration since the billionaire businessman’s win on Tuesday (November 5).
Mr Gardiner wants the case to be reopened, telling GB News if Harry did lie on his immigration application he would have to leave the US as it would be a criminal offence and leave him subject to deportation.
On where the Sussexes might go, he said: “Canada is the most likely destination I would have thought.”
Mr Trump weighed in on the visa row in March, when he told the same channel that the Duke shouldn’t be afforded special treatment.
He said: “We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”
It was not the first time Mr Trump had signalled his disdain for the Sussexes, having said previously that he isn’t a “fan” of Meghan, adding: “I think poor Harry is being led around by his nose.”
Harry and Meghan moved to California in June 2020 after stepping down as senior royals. They no longer have a home in the UK.
The Duke has said previously that he wants to remain in the US amid concerns about his family’s security arrangements in Britain.
