Voters strongly believe that black-white relations are better today - and improving - but are much less confident about the social situation with Hispanics.

Is Congress, behind on Barack Obama's deadlines on health care and cap-and-trade legislation, and flummoxed by the failure of the stimulus package to hold unemployment below 10.2 percent, prepared to address the immigration issue next year?

San Francisco has long prided itself on being a “sanctuary city” that refuses to work with federal authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants. But now city officials are arguing over how far that policy should go when some of those illegal immigrants are charged with murder and other serious crimes.

U.S. voters want aggressive action to restrict illegal immigration, but they don’t think immigrants should bear the brunt of the enforcement efforts on their own. Most say the federal government and those hiring illegal immigrants also need to be brought into the discussion.

Actions have consequences, politically speaking. Just check the first set of Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 surveys.

Before leaving for his vacation on Martha's Vineyard, Barack Obama said the next big item on his legislative agenda -- well, after health care and cap-and-trade and maybe labor's bill to effectively abolish secret ballots in union elections -- was immigration reform.

The second week of August turned into one of the toughest yet for the still new Obama Administration.

President Barack Obama recently suggested that immigration reform might be on the legislative agenda for early 2010. But, most voters don’t see passage of legislation as likely.