Fact Check: Does Rand Paul support amnesty, or did the media lie about his position?

There is a rampant online rumor, primarily circulating among Tea Party circles, that Rand Paul supports amnesty.

What exactly is amnesty? Generally, people seem to agree that amnesty means offering illegal immigrants citizenship, which would reward them for breaking the law and would put them ahead of those who have applied to enter the country legally.

Does Rand Paul support amnesty? No, he does not.

So why do people believe he does? Two articles/headlines in particular claimed that he did, but they were not accurate.

One was a Breitbart article, titled "Rand Paul: Let's Compromise on Amnesty."

But it turns out that Rand Paul never said what was implied. In actuality, Rand Paul said he was open to compromise on immigration reform (which can mean many things), but he has never supported granting citizenship to illegals.

In response to this misleading headline, Rand Paul said this: "I will not let sloppy journalists characterize my position as “amnesty.” It is simply untrue."

Another article was created by the Associated Press and widely redistributed under various titles. It claimed that Paul supported a pathway to citizenship, citing a speech he gave. And yet, he never mentioned a pathway to citizenship in his speech.

Not only were the two articles about Rand Paul wrong, but they fly in the face of what Paul has supported legislatively.

In 2013, during the Gang of Eight bill debate, Paul offered an amendment to prevent a pathway to citizenship.

VERDICT: Rand Paul opposes amnesty, and the media lied about his position.

To learn more about Paul's position on immigration, watch the video below:

Rude Illegals Interrupt Rep. Steve King And Sen. Rand Paul From Eating

On Monday, as Congressman Steve King and Senator Rand Paul were taking a break from the campaign trail to grab some burgers.

Just as they were able to sit down, however, two illegal immigrants approached the pair and introduced themselves.

Realizing that they were about to get into a shouting match with King, who is known for being an immigration hardliner, Paul wisely left the situation.

The two illegals, primarily the woman, proceeded to engage in theatrics with King, who was having none of their melodramatic nonsense.

See the video of the confrontation for yourself: