Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHouse passes bill to avert shutdown Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday used a pro-immigration rally outside the White House to call for permanent residence for people in the U.S. with temporary protected status (TPS).

Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyTrump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Pressley applauded on House floor after moving speech on living with alopecia San Francisco considers changing local voting age to 16 MORE (D-Mass.) spoke in front of scores, if not hundreds, of supporters one day after President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE held his own rally in El Paso, Texas, calling for funding for his long-sought southern border wall and support for his hard-line immigration policies.

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"We are a nation that turns peril into promise," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We are here to make sure that all TPS recipients become permanent members of the United States of America."

"We are fighting for the longstanding principle...that the people who build this country, stay in this country," she added.

Pressley called TPS a “falsehood,” saying there is nothing temporary about it because its recipients have contributed to the country for decades. She said she also hopes to make the Trump administration “see the humanity” in TPS holders.

"This is not charity, this is what you have earned," Pressley told the crowd. "We will not stop until you get it. Residency now."

@AyannaPressley said they are demanding that the Trump admin

“see the humanity” in TPS holders pic.twitter.com/0thFXx9nnN — Rachel Frazin (@RachelFrazin) February 12, 2019

The TPS supporters marched in the rain from the White House to the Capitol in an effort to lobby members of Congress.

Huge numbers of people, including TPS recipients are beginning to march from the White House to the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/UTWmPgs2s9 — Rachel Frazin (@RachelFrazin) February 12, 2019

The U.S. provides TPS for people who come from countries that have faced turmoil such as war and natural disasters.

The White House under Trump has essentially ended TPS, terminating protections for all but 7,000 of the more than 300,000 affected residents.

Last year, the administration announced that it would end TPS for people from Honduras and Nepal. A group of people from these countries filed a lawsuit on Sunday, saying his actions were motivated by racism.

A similar suit last year temporarily prevented the administration from ending TPS for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

A day before the D.C. rally, in El Paso, Trump described his immigration policies and proposed border wall as a matter of national security.

“There’s no place better to talk about border security whether they like it or not,” Trump said, repeating his claim that the El Paso border wall has made the city safer, a position disputed by local officials.

—Updated at 12:43 p.m.