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A new poll shows Americans' disdain for Congress is weaker than it has been in more than three years, but neither party has much to brag about.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll shows 50 percent of Americans say they "strongly" disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job. The good news: That's the lowest that number has been since March 2011. The bad news: It's still half the country really disliking Congress.

And when it comes to the two major parties, the improvement doesn't really show.

In fact, congressional Democrats are facingtheirhighest disapproval rating in at least the last 20 years, at 67 percent. Meanwhile, 30 percent approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing.

The poll comes on the heels of a WaPo-ABC poll that showed the Democratic Party in general hitting a three-decade lowas far as how people feel about it.

Democrats, though, still remain more popular than the GOP. Just 25 percent of Americans say they approve of the job Republicans in Congress aredoing, while 72 percent disapprove.

The difference between the two parties, though, is smaller than it has usually been.

Democrats appear to be suffering from declining support among African Americans, who are about evenly split on the party, with 50 percent approving and 47 percent disapproving.

Another big difference between the two parties has been the GOP base's reluctance to support its congressional contingent. But, at this point, both party bases feel about the same when it comes to their congressional representatives. Democrats approve of their party 56-42, while Republicans approve 55-38.

When even partisans are that divided on their own party, though, it's hard to call that a victory.

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The Fix: Congressional Democrats disapproval hits a 20-year high

Ron Paul - immigration reform
Ron Paul - immigration reform.

By: Economic Crisis 2014

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Ron Paul - immigration reform - Video

We Have No Choice: Texas Latino Leaders Say Theyll Compromise On Immigration Reform
#39;We Have No Choice #39;: Texas Latino Leaders Say They #39;ll Compromise On Immigration Reform.

By: Ny78121dsfd

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We Have No Choice: Texas Latino Leaders Say Theyll Compromise On Immigration Reform - Video

The latest news, analysis and debates on immigration reform and policy.

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

President Obama's spokesman laughed off as "crazy" Wednesday reports that the Homeland Security Department is preparing for an increase in the number of immigrants living illegally in the country by ordering enough paper to print as many as 5 million "green" cards annually. Published October 22, 2014

Immigrant rights advocates unveiled a campaign billboard in North Carolina on Thursday attacking Democratic Sen. Kay R. Hagan for being too strict on illegal immigrants, raising questions of how Hispanic voters will approach this year's elections.

Illegal Pete's, a Colorado-based quick-service eatery known for its oversize burritos, came under fire Wednesday night at a public meeting in Fort Collins from about 30 critics who want the restaurant to remove the word "illegal" from its name.

By Associated Press

The New York City Council is passing legislation that would stop honoring detainment orders from U.S. immigration officials that don't come with a warrant from a federal judge.

President Obama said that while it's difficult for some Democratic candidates running in states he didn't carry to invite him to their states, they are nevertheless loyal allies and backers of his agenda in Congress.

Ground rules weren't a problem this time, but Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist fanned the political flames late Tuesday over immigration, the minimum wage and in odd spurts which of them had been poorer as a child.

By Associated Press

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Special Section - Immigration Reform - Breaking News ...

By Tim Kane

Published: October 26, 2014

Immigration is the definitive wedge issue in American politics, but it doesnt have to be. When the Senates Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act failed to pass the House this year, it was the third such failure of comprehensive reform in a decade. Heres a good rule: Three strikes, youre out. Its time for a different approach. Congress should forget comprehensive reform and try for pragmatic and incremental change instead.

Skeptics will thunder that theres no room for compromise, the other party is unreasonable, the issue boils down to either amnesty or deportation and theres nothing in between that anyone can agree on.

Want to bet?

The Hoover Institution has been surveying immigration experts a 40-member working group of scholars from across the political spectrum to test that hypothesis. We have asked them to consider policy innovations that purposefully look at all aspects of immigration, not just the hypersensitive topic of illegal immigration.

Most recently we challenged our panel to think about work visas. The United States issues 60 million visas annually, but only 3 million are for work. Indeed, work visas in the U.S. are an excessively complex mixture of quotas, rules and bureaucracy.

How could work visas be improved? How would reforms affect the economy? And could liberal, conservative and independent wonks agree on any of it?

The answer is yes. Almost everyone surveyed (86 percent) thought that the bureaucratic thicket regulating temporary work visas should be reduced. There was strong consensus (79 percent) for eliminating the cap on non-agricultural H-2 visas (which cover seasonal jobs such as food servers or landscape crew members), for making the E-Verify program mandatory so that only legal workers could be hired (73 percent) and for unlimited visas for high-skilled STEM workers (66 percent). Sixty-one percent favored using visa pricing (61 percent) requiring employers to pay a fee when they hire guest workers which would provide an incentive for hiring the native-born and is a better way to allocate visas than the centrally planned and administered quotas in place today.

We also asked the scholars to judge nine components for a better temporary work visa system. One idea known as portability had overwhelming support, with 97 percent in favor. So if Congress could do just one thing related to immigration, this is it: Allow visa portability, so that guest workers can change employers and thus avoid exploitation.

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Incremental immigration reform can break logjam