A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 36% of voters now say relations between blacks and whites are getting better

Twenty-seven percent (27%) now say black-white relations are getting worse, up 10 points from July 2009, while 33% think they’re staying about the same. African-Americans are much more pessimistic than whites. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of whites think black-white race relations are getting better, but just 13% of blacks agree. Only 21% of all voters now think race relations between whites and Hispanics are improving, down 7 points from April 2010 and down 19 points from December 2009. Fifty percent (50%) say they are getting worse, and 24% say they’re remaining about the same. Similarly, just 16% say race relations between blacks and Hispanics are getting better. Thirty-four percent (34%) say they are worsening and 24% staying the same. Confidence in relations with Hispanics has undoubtedly been soured by the growing national concern with illegal immigration, which many view largely as a problem coming from Mexico. Support is high nationally for Arizona’s new law cracking down on illegal immigration, a statute that has drawn loud protest from the Mexican government. Most Americans don’t believe Mexico wants to stop the illegal flow of its citizens into this country and think America’s southern neighbor should be asked to compensate U.S. taxpayers for costs incurred by illegal immigration.