We Asked Some Immigrants What They Thought of Last Night's GOP Debate

American presidential primaries are strange. On one hand they are hyped and celebrated by a political press that loves nothing more than a months-long horserace, but on the other they are deeply insular affairs, with the candidates speaking directly to the small percentage of the population engaged enough in the process to vote in an intra-party contest.

That means that though the GOP candidates are playing to the border hawks, Evangelicals, unabashed Islamophobes, anti-tax crusaders, wealthy pseudo-libertarians, Obama haters, and the rest of the subgroups that constitute the Republican base, the rest of the world gets to eavesdrop on their appeals. That's where things get messy. What sounds like a courageous, common-sense position to some Iowa caucusgoers might be considered a dumb idea by Democrats, and might scare the shit out of foreigners unused to the apocalyptic Christian capitalism peddled by the contemporary American right.

To find out just how terrifying the GOP is to non-Americans, we gathered some young immigrants to watch Wednesday night's debate and act as an informal focus group. Here's what they had to say about Marco Rubio, visas, and the US obsession with discussing candidates' business records.

Dan, from Ireland: Poor Jeb really doesn't know how to run, does he? Imagine losing to a mad scientist and Biff from Back to the Future.
Naoise, also from Ireland: Jeb seems completely resigned. Like, "My mom made me run."
Dory, from Canada: He tried to self-sabotage [in the first debate] with the weed smoking revelation and ever since then he's been like, "Really, we're still doing this?… uh… fine."
Dan: Jeb is getting less and less relevant with every debate.

Naoise: Is this guy Kasich? He looks like he wandered in off the street and I haven't heard of him until today.
Moeko, from Japan: He's not explaining what his policies are, he's just saying that Ohio is great—though that's pretty much the same as in Japanese politics.
Dan: He seems reasonably intelligent. Side note: No one outside the US understands why half the country fellates the ghost of Reagan. He was a shitbag who ignored AIDS.
Naoise: And homelessness.
Dan: And Central America and Afghanistan.

Dory: Canadians are way more concerned with their candidates' political records [than their business records], but most importantly with their policy.
Dan: I can't think of a businessman who has been near the high offices in Ireland, really. We did have one of these odious "entrepreneurs" running for president—but president in Ireland is a ceremonial office.
Gina, from Mexico: In Mexican politics you never, ever get personal. No one cares. It's all based on policy. Religion is never brought up in Mexican elections. There's a clear separation between church and state.
Moeko: Religion and politics are separate. That's what I can't get over in the States.
Naoise: So many Americans aren't religious but they fall back on it to judge candidates.
Dory: The candidates seem incredibly combative tonight. Canadian candidates would never be that aggressive. There would just be a lot of "sorrys."

Moeko: Trump talking about gun control was the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
Naoise: There's no point in a complete moron talking about such a contentious issue.
Dan: He does seem calmer tonight though. More… presidential.
Moeko: Trump I thought would have done better [in a debate about the economy] because he's the head of a company, but he did worse than the first two debates when he said whatever he wanted.
Naoise: He was on a leash.
Gina: Almost to the point where it was boring.

Dory: Trump is totally snaking around the H-1B thing, which as a Canadian living and working in the US is the only question that actually applies to me in this whole debate.
Naoise: Why does the debate about visas always have to be about "relying" on people from abroad? It's always spun that way.
Dan: Because depending on anything non-American is a sign of weakness.
Naoise: It is one of the most frustrating things—even the application itself [for an H-1B] is centered around the fact that X amount of Americans have failed to prove themselves capable, hence we must rely on YOU, the immigrant worker.
Gina: I didn't think them talking about H-1B visas was even that meaningful because they're never specific. It's all about the rhetoric.
Dory: They need to take the cap [on the number of H-1B visas issued] off. Rubio is right on with that. At least he is interested in drawing talented workers to the US to help boost the economy. All of those "foreigners" who are "stealing" American jobs are actually paying taxes into the US economy and spending their hard-earned dollars in US markets. I feel like Rubio gets that to some extent. Everyone else is just totally anti-foreigners—they claim they are just anti-illegals but they seem determined to make it as difficult for people to come here legally as possible.
Gina: They need better avenues for skilled and less-skilled people who want to work here. They need Mexicans picking tomatoes in California and working the kitchens in New York.
Naoise: My issue with the way they were talking about it was how ignorant they were. Trump spins H1-B—a really difficult visa to get—as a way to decry illegal immigrants. One has nothing to do with the other—you can't apply for a H1-B if you entered the country illegally. It boggles my mind that could be a point in the debate for them.
Gina: My job required someone who spoke Spanish on a native level, and you're not going to get that except with someone who was raised in a Spanish-speaking country. And ultimately they said I was taking up a American job!

Dan: Rubio does have a presence, I'll give him that.
Dory: I kind of want to hate him, but he's so impassioned and kinda sincere, so I'm having trouble totally dismissing him.
Naoise: I almost like him and then I realize how much I disagree with pretty much everything he represents. He's definitely the least odious?
Moeko: If I were a Republican I would vote for him. Oh, also he's young. That's something US needs—look at Canada and Trudeau.
Dan: Rubio is gonna win this in the end, mark my words. He's too slick. Trump and Carson will fall eventually because they just can't get the nod. I'd be amazed if Trump actually wanted it. Jeb just doesn't look like he's ever gonna take it up a notch; it's probably already too late.

Moeko: I liked it when Rand Paul talked about why Social Security was failing. It got to the heart of the problem. It was very simple and honest and true.
Gina: Rubio is really hot, even though he has big ears. But I like Cubans.