WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement in response to press reports that the Biden administration was planning to send 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border to address an expected surge of migrants:

“This decision is just another example of the Biden administration planning poorly for a crisis that has been long in the making,” Wicker said. “The President and his team knew that the end of Title 42 risks an unprecedented migrant surge at the southwest border – yet the Department of Homeland Security waited until virtually the last minute to request Department of Defense support.”

“Moreover, by failing to plan for this entirely foreseeable request, the Department of Defense will now be forced to deploy active-duty troops, which will have negative impacts on readiness. President Biden could have avoided this entire situation by taking seriously the crisis at our border. It is time to return to the strong border policies of the previous administration and work now to finish the wall, support law enforcement, and target the cartels.”