WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday the nation's immigration system is "in desperate need of repair" as he opened Congress' first hearing this year on immigration. Whether Congress will be able to agree on how to fix it remained unclear.

The session came as President Barack Obama pushes for swift action to pass immigration legislation and as bipartisan Senate negotiators work to craft a bill. But in a sign of the difficulties to come, the Judiciary chairman, Republican Bob Goodlatte 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.