His faith, the Constitution and his constituents. In that order.
That’s what Gabe Evans plans to look to when making decisions as the representative for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
At a press conference on Monday, Evans addressed his win over Democratic incumbent, Yadira Caraveo, and spoke to his plans for his first congressional term.
In his speech, he listed out the problems he’s seen take over Colorado, focusing on things like drug overdoses and bank robberies.
“I saw those problems as a police officer. (I) couldn't have the impact I wanted as a police officer, and so that's why I ran for and won my state House seat, and that's why I'm now so incredibly honored by the confidence and by the faith that the voters in Colorado's 8th Congressional District have instilled in me as their new representative-elect,” Evans said. “In many ways, this was a tremendous victory for Colorado Republicans and for balance and for dialogue in the state.”
Colorado’s House delegation will have an even split of four Republicans and four Democrats heading to D.C. next year.
The border, and President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations, were a main topic of the conference from the press.
When asked if he supported the mass deportation, Evans talked about a three-prong approach to dealing with the immigration system.
Step one: secure the border. Step two: find and remove any immigrants who are committing crimes while in the United States.
“After we've got those priorities done, then we can absolutely continue to have that conversation about what we do with the millions of folks who are present illegally in the United States, but who aren't committing crimes and who aren't really causing massive problems in our society,” he said.
Evans said that he was against deportation policies that separate families.
“Family is very important. This is the first important thing. It's the most important thing. And so for these situations, again, I am not a big fan of separating families. I don't think that's the right path to go down.” Evans said.
Looking forward to January when he will be sworn in, Evans said he plans on working with local law enforcement and federal partners to allow them to work together on immigration arrests, even though state lawmakers have limited that type of cooperation.
Evans said the priority grew out of talking with local leaders about what Congress could do to help with public safety.
“One of the things that they pretty much all brought up to me was, right now in Colorado, it is illegal for state and local law enforcement to be able to coordinate with their federal counterparts to get violent criminals out of our community who are also illegally present here.”
A 2019 Colorado law blocks local jails from holding an inmate for any additional time at the request of immigration authorities. It also bars local police and sheriffs from arresting people solely over immigration violations and prevents probation officers from giving their clients’ personal information to immigration authorities.
Evans also said affordable housing is top of mind for him.
“We also need to be focused on the cost of living and making sure that we are protecting and fixing our economy so that people can afford to live again,” Evans said.
He is the second representative for Colorado’s newest district and its first Republican.
Evans announced Tyler Moore as his chief of staff, and plans on announcing the rest of his staff in the coming weeks.
A veteran and a former cop, Evans said his time serving taught him the importance of order when looking at how to tackle issues.
“In the military, if everything's a priority, nothing's a priority and nothing happens. Same thing in law enforcement,” Evans said. And he said that’s the approach he plans to now take in Congress too.
- Gabe Evans in his own words on CPR's Colorado Matters
- Colorado congressional candidates in up-for-grabs district walk the line on border security
- Caraveo, Evans both look to Latino voters as campaigns enter final stretch
- State Rep. Gabe Evans will take on first-term Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo in Congressional District 8
