WASHINGTON—The White House said Wednesday it would deploy National Guard troops to the border with Mexico and would consider building a wall along at least one military base set on the border.

Administration officials also said they were hoping for a high-profile congressional debate this spring and summer over U.S. protections for children and migrants seeking asylum, saying these “loopholes” were encouraging illegal migration.

The goal of the debate appeared to be in part to create a greater political contrast with Democrats on the issue of immigration. If Democrats resist, a senior administration official said, the administration would work to tell voters that the opposition was “the party of open borders.”

Officials said their goal is to combat what they see as out-of-control illegal migration, though the number of unauthorized crossings is lower than it has been in decades, according to government statistics. Administration officials said there was an uptick in March and said they feared bigger increases this spring and summer.

Few details about the size, scope or timing of the National Guard deployment were available. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said President Donald Trump would sign a proclamation ordering the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon to work with border-state governors to dispatch troops and that she hoped the deployment would begin immediately.