The political play of last week goes to President Donald Trump for yanking military airplane privileges for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and 30 other Democrats for a planned one-week junket to Belgium, Egypt and Afghanistan while the USA’s government remains in partial shutdown mode.

Pelosi and the others learned of the flight cancellation one-hour before takeoff leaving them stunned, flustered and dismayed. Apparently President Trump preferred they stay in Washington and enter meaningful negotiations concerning a $5.7-billion appropriation for additional southern border wall security measures. This is what the partial government shutdown is all about – keeping the USA safe from thousands of illegal immigrants with criminals and violent gang members mixed in.

“Due to the shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been postponed,” said President Trump in a statement to Pelosi. “We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate …

“I look forward to seeing you soon and even more forward to watching our open and dangerous Southern Border finally receive the attention, funding and security it so desperately deserves!”

Friday morning news reports said a new caravan of an estimated 2,000 illegals with women and children left Honduras several days ago, made their way through Guatemala and crossed into southern Mexico mostly unimpeded in the same place where two-months ago another caravan of illegals from Central America was met with tear gas and armed police in riot gear that in the end did not stop the determined illegals from pressing on to the Mexico-USA border seeking asylum.

Mexican officials said this time they decided against confrontation offering the illegals safe passage to northern Mexico and temporary work visas for those that wanted to stay in Mexico. There are still thousands of illegals at the border in Tijuana, Mexico seeking asylum in the USA and now there will be thousands more. However, Tijuana officials are pushing back hard against the invasion of illegals that are stressing out public services meant for Mexican citizens not illegals.

For the Democrats to say there is no crisis at the southern border is ludicrous and a complete failure of recognizing the obvious growing calamity at the border.

The California Border Patrol reported on national TV news on Friday that in the past five days they had arrested illegals from seven countries including those from Central America, China and India – of all places — attempting to cross the border illegally between legal ports of entry. What? Chinese and Indian illegals?

The optics shinning upon the Democrats right now is they are continuing to obstruct and delay additional border security preferring to push far-left ideology of socialist-type, open-border philosophy. Let the chips fall where they may.

In a brand new poll by National Public Radio, PBS News Hour and Marist — President Trump’s standing with Latinos jumped 19-points in the past month.

“50-percent of Latinos support the job Trump is doing, a significant jump from the 31-percent who had the same answer in a December poll,” said Newsmax in a review of the new NPR/PBS/Marist poll.

The same poll also showed that President Trump’s overall approval rating had dipped about 10-points since the government shutdown a month ago – the longest shutdown on record.

Like the fine residents of Tijuana, Mexico – USA’s Latinos are seeing the hand writing on the wall and want their Hispanic brothers and sisters to enter the USA legally and not in a perilous border stampede.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.