The United States is currently enduring a federal government shutdown brought on by a standoff between President Donald Trump and Democrats regarding funding for a security wall on the U.S. and Mexico border.

But News 12 New Jersey’s Brian Donohue says that the issue of illegal immigration cannot be completely solved until the United States comes up with a better way to identify and verify citizenship.

Donohue points to his Costco Visa card for example. He says that the Visa card has an embedded chip with all of his information on it, a magnetic strip as backup and a hologram dove to make it tough to forge.

Then he compares his Social Security card, which is made of paper and does not contain any electronics.

Donohue also points to so-called “temp towns” around New Jersey. “Temp towns" are often found in immigrant neighborhoods like New Brunswick, Union City and Elizabeth. They feature agencies that can often find undocumented immigrants work.

Donohue says that undocumented immigrants who are smuggled into the United States often go to these agencies, provide a fake or stolen Social Security number and are then put to work. He says that this practice could be stopped if the federal government built a system that allows employers to be able to see if someone is legal.

Donohue says that both parties are guilty of not really wanting to fix the system.

He says that Republicans haven’t wanted to fix the issue because it would make it tough for big businesses to hire undocumented workers. He says that Democrats haven’t wanted to fix the issue because they say that it could stem immigration overall.

Many advocates of lower immigration levels say that they do support an electronic verification system over a physical wall. But immigration advocates oppose it, fearing errors would cause legal workers to be turned away.

The issue of electronic verification has not come up in negotiations between Democrats and the president.