Colorado Republican Congressman Gabe Evans is under scrutiny for repeatedly misrepresenting the immigration history of his grandfather while publicly supporting policies that call for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, a new report from Colorado Newsline has revealed.
Evans, a former state representative now running for reelection in Colorado's competitive 8th Congressional District, has long invoked the story of his grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, to promote his image as a descendant of immigrants who "did it the right way."
In fact, he has frequently cited Chavez's military service and alleged lawful path to citizenship to justify support for strict immigration laws. "You need to go stand in that line and do it the right way, do it the legal way, so you are not leapfrogging over those folks like my grandfather," Evans said at a January 2024 debate:
But archival records obtained by Colorado Newsline show that Evans' narrative distorts the facts. Chavez entered the United States unlawfully in 1929 at the age of 5, according to Immigration and Naturalization Service documents. He, his mother, and siblings crossed into El Paso "to live, illegal entry," and he was arrested in 1941 for an immigration violation and placed in deportation proceedings.
The documents also show he was arrested earlier for attempted burglary—an offense cited in the recently passed Laken Riley Act as grounds for mandatory deportation under legislation he supported. Evans vas a vocal supporter of the bill.
Despite this, Evans has frequently referred to Chavez's immigration path as legal. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio back in October, Evans said:
"As the grandson of somebody who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, I also know that we have to have a more streamlined process for those individuals who want to follow the law, who want to do it the right way, and who want to come to the United States to be a contributing part of that American dream. Like my abuelito, who raised his right hand and was wounded twice in World War II in service and in defense of his adopted home"
Evans' office did not respond to repeated questions from Newsline about the inconsistencies. His spokesperson initially claimed he had been "very consistent" before later conceding that past comments "may have been confusing."
Evans' aunt, Jennifer Chavez, confirmed the accuracy of the records and criticized Evans' portrayal of their family:
"Gabe, in reality, barely knew my da. They just didn't see each other very often. My sister (Evans' mother) just didn't click with the family anymore. ... He's trying to cultivate the Latino heritage thing, but he really didn't know my father, because he rarely saw him"
She also disputed Evans' claims about his mother's upbringing in a "one-room hut" in Mexico, calling it "misleading" and noting the family lived in a middle-class neighborhood in El Paso.
The Colorado Democratic Party slammed Evans' inconsistent story through a post on X on Thursday, stating that, under the immigration policies pushed forward by the representative,
"his own grandpa would have been deported:"
Under the immigration policies @GabeforColorado wants, his own grandpa would have been deported. We need solutions and true immigration reform, not a heartless humanitarian crisis. pic.twitter.com/PPhhNxTMNH
— Colorado Dems (@coloradodems) July 24, 2025
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