Gabe Evans Claimed Immigrants Needed To Come To The United States “The Right Way” Like His Grandfather Did

Evans Said Immigrants Needed To “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, Who Did It The Right Way And Did It The Legal Way.” “’We are a nation that is ruled by law,’ Evans told moderators at a January 2024 debate, responding to a question about how ‘millions of people living in the U.S. illegally’ should be treated. ‘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, who did it the right way and did it the legal way.’” [Colorado Newsline, 7/22/25]

According To Public Records, Evans’ Grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, Resided Unlawfully In The United States For 12 Years Before He Was Arrested For An “Immigration Violation” In 1941

U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services Records Showed Evans’ Grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, Entered The United States Unlawfully With His Mother And Siblings In 1929. “The email announced Evans’ candidacy for Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District, and it began with a story the Fort Lupton Republican has told countless times throughout his political career — the story of his grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, who was born in Mexico and earned U.S. citizenship through his Army service in World War II…Those records show that the Chavez family, and a young Cuauhtemoc in particular, were squarely on the wrong side of the ‘strong immigration policies’ his grandson now invokes his name to champion. A 1941 Immigration and Naturalization Service document, obtained through a records request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shows that Cuauhtemoc entered the country unlawfully with his mother and siblings in 1929, at the age of 5, and resided unlawfully in Texas for the intervening 12 years. The document, known as an alien registration form, or an AR-2, was prepared shortly after Cuauhtemoc, then 16 years old, was arrested for an ‘immigration violation’ in El Paso and ‘made the subject of deportation proceedings.’” [Colorado Newsline, 7/22/25]

• U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services Records Showed Chavez Unlawfully Resided In Texas For 12 Years. “The email announced Evans’ candidacy for Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District, and it began with a story the Fort Lupton Republican has told countless times throughout his political career — the story of his grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, who was born in Mexico and earned U.S. citizenship through his Army service in World War II…Those records show that the Chavez family, and a young Cuauhtemoc in particular, were squarely on the wrong side of the ‘strong immigration policies’ his grandson now invokes his name to champion. A 1941 Immigration and Naturalization Service document, obtained through a records request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shows that Cuauhtemoc entered the country unlawfully with his mother and siblings in 1929, at the age of 5, and resided unlawfully in Texas for the intervening 12 years. The document, known as an alien registration form, or an AR-2, was prepared shortly after Cuauhtemoc, then 16 years old, was arrested for an ‘immigration violation’ in El Paso and ‘made the subject of deportation proceedings.’” [Colorado Newsline, 7/22/25]
• An Alien Registration Form Or An AR-2 Form Noted Chavez Was Arrested For An “Immigration Violation” In El Paso And “Made The Subject Of Deportation Proceedings.” “The email announced Evans’ candidacy for Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District, and it began with a story the Fort Lupton Republican has told countless times throughout his political career — the story of his grandfather, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, who was born in Mexico and earned U.S. citizenship through his Army service in World War II…Those records show that the Chavez family, and a young Cuauhtemoc in particular, were squarely on the wrong side of the ‘strong immigration policies’ his grandson now invokes his name to champion. A 1941 Immigration and Naturalization Service document, obtained through a records request with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shows that Cuauhtemoc entered the country unlawfully with his mother and siblings in 1929, at the age of 5, and resided unlawfully in Texas for the intervening 12 years. The document, known as an alien registration form, or an AR-2, was prepared shortly after Cuauhtemoc, then 16 years old, was arrested for an ‘immigration violation’ in El Paso and ‘made the subject of deportation proceedings.’” [Colorado Newsline, 7/22/25]
• Cuauhtemoc Chavez’s Alien Registration Form From 1941, Which Noted He Entered The United States Unlawfully.

Image: see original report, p. 56

[Colorado Newsline, 7/22/25]