Although Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, originally called for a “pause” in accepting refugees from Syria into the United States, he told Mashable that he thinks some politicians are taking it too far.

In the wake of the deadly Paris attacks on Nov. 13, the decorated military veteran and politician suggested that the United States decrease its influx of refugees in order to prevent dangerous individuals or ISIS sympathizers from entering the country. However, he remains concerned about refugees, especially families and children fleeing ISIS atrocities in their homelands.

“We should suspend it until we are sure that nobody’s going to get into the United States that can do damage to us,” McCain said. “I’m not saying never take them. I don’t want little children’s bodies to wash up on the beach.”

The comment about children washing onto the beach is a reference to Aylan Kurdi, a three year-old refugee who drowned when the vessel taking him and his family to Greece capsized. A viral photo of young Aylan lying facedown in the sand was displayed on the Senate floor in September while McCain argued for the United States to take action against the “greatest humanitarian tragedy of our times.”

The Paris attacks have caused McCain to rethink U.S. involvement in the Syrian refugee crisis, but he hasn’t forgotten Aylan. Thinking of recent comments made by Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush, who stated that even Muslim orphans should be turned away at the American border, McCain’s statement to Mashable took a candid turn.

“By the way — this thing about the Christians only…I view myself as a fairly religious person,” he said. “One of the tenets of my faith is that we’re all God’s children. Are we going to discriminate against children because they are not Christian? That’s bizarre.”

Several state governors have explicitly stated that they would not allow any Syrian refugees beyond their borders. Nonetheless, the State Department still seeks to let in 10,000 refugees within the next year.