Updated at 10:10 p.m.
Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, suggested on Thursday human smugglers target children based on attractiveness when aiding in U.S. border crossings.
“Believe me, a lot of the attractive children are not making it to the border,” Carter said during a Thursday meeting about U.S. immigration and border agencies. The comment was presented without any clarification as to what he meant.
After a brief pause, the conversation about immigration policies with officials from Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved along with unrelated questions.
According to CNN, Carter was being questioned by Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, about immigration laws designed to protect families who cross the border into the U.S. with children while they wait for decisions — laws they view as needing change to make crossing the border less attractive.
A spokesperson from Rep. Carter’s office sought to clarify the congressman’s statement, saying he was referencing a “loophole” that allows children to cross the border unaccompanied.
“The congressman was referring to the fact that it’s a sad reality that unaccompanied children are subject to kidnapping, sexual violence, physical abuse, human trafficking and even death at the hands of human smugglers and ruthless cartels during their journey to cross over the southern border,” Emily Taylor, Carter’s communications director, said in an email to the Washington Examiner.
“There is currently a loophole in the law that makes it useful for children to cross over the border alone so they can remain in the United States, and without the protection of their parents or other family members during their journey, they are at even more of a risk to be exploited by the coyotes and cartel,” Taylor added.
