House Opens First Immigration Hearing

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said the nation's immigration system is "in desperate need of repair" as he opened Congress' first hearing on immigration.

A man holds a Spanish language newspaper with an article on immigration reform (Getty Images)

The session Tuesday comes as President Barack Obama pushes for swift action to pass immigration legislation. But in a sign of the difficulties to come, the Judiciary chairman, Republican Bob Goodlatte (GOOD-latt) of Virginia, cautioned against a "rush to judgment" and said each piece of the issue must be examined in detail.

Goodlatte said there are lots of questions about how any large-scale legalization program would work, how much it would cost and how it would prevent illegal immigration in future.

Obama supports a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country, something many Republicans oppose.