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President Barack Obama called out Republicans in Congress for "holding hostage" funding for the Department of Homeland Security, while challenging Americans to change the political environment that has caused immigration reform to stall during a town hall meeting on Wednesday.

The agency in charge of implementing immigration policy, among other duties, is scheduled to run out of funding Friday if the GOP-controlled Congress can't agree to a funding bill.

"Instead of trying to hold hostage funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is so important for our national security, fund that and let's get on with actually passing comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said at the event, aired on Telemundo and MSNBC, and hosted by Jos Daz-Balart, an anchor on both channels.

The meeting was announced in the days following a ruling last week from a federal district court judge that temporarily blocked Obama's executive action on immigration. The White House said it was a chance for the president to reach the Hispanic community, taking questions from online and members of the audience.

During the event, the president called on voters to make immigration reform a successful social movement -- and a key issue in the next presidential election.

"Every major social movement, every bit of progress in this country, whether it's been the workers' rights movement or the civil rights movement or the women's rights movement, every single bit of that progress had required us to fight and to push and you make progress," Obama said. "You don't get everything right away, and then you push some more."

The president also defended the legality of his executive action, but said that passing comprehensive reform in Congress should be the end goal. When asked about the failure of Congress to pass legislation he laid the blame squarely on the GOP.

"You do a disservice when you suggest that no one was doing anything, then you don't know who was fighting for and against you," Obama said. "The Democratic Party has been consistent. A few Republicans have supported it but let's be clear -- the reason why we don't have a bill is because [House Speaker] John Boehner wouldn't call a vote."

Obama offered praise for 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush.

"I appreciate Mr. Bush being concerned about immigration reform," he said. "I would suggest that what he do is talk to the speaker of the House and the members of his party."

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Obama calls out GOP on immigration policy