(CNN) Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that her characterization of migrant detention centers as "concentration camps" has created a conversation to deter such a tragedy from happening again.

"This is an opportunity for us to talk about how we learn from our history in order to prevent it from ever happening in any form, at any step, whether it's a concentration camp, or whether it's the final steps of that phase from happening," she told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" on Thursday.

"And even at the earliest steps we have to make sure that dehumanizing and 'never again' means never again for anyone," she added, referencing a phrase commonly invoked by Jews about the Holocaust.

Ocasio-Cortez accused President Donald Trump's administration earlier this month of running "concentration camps" in its detention of migrants at the southern border.

"The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are -- they are concentration camps," Ocasio-Cortez told an Instagram Live audience at the time. "And if that doesn't bother you ... I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that we should not, that 'never again' means something."

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