Just Tuning In? Here’s What You’ve Missed in the Debate

HOUSTON — With less than a week to go before 12 states cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, the remaining Republican presidential candidates gathered here for their final debate before the vote.

Here are the highlights:

• The first question of the debate focused on immigration, as Donald J. Trump andSenator Marco Rubio disagreed overeach other’s record on immigration. Mr. Rubio accused Mr. Trump of shifting his position on immigration, and for hiring illegal immigrants at his hotels. Mr. Trump defended his past, saying it was the only help he could get, and shot back at Mr. Rubio: “I’m the only one on the stage who has hired anyone.”

• As Senator Ted Cruz and Mr. Trump argued over deportation, Gov. John Kasich offered a more moderate stance on immigration, proclaiming “I don’t think we’re going to tear families apart.” He favored a guest worker program, and a path to legal status, not citizenship. Ben Carson also backed a guest worker program, but “they do not become American citizens, they do not vote.”

• For the second time tonight, Mr. Rubiowent right at Mr. Trump, accusing him again of using illegal immigration to build his properties and that his name brandties are made in China. Mr. Trump shot back that it made for a “such a cute sound bite,” but Mr. Rubio was undeterred.“Make them in America,” he saidrepeatedly to Mr. Trump.

• Mr. Trump promised that “religious liberty” would be a litmus test for nominating a Supreme Court justice, whileMr. Cruz promised to nominate a strict constitutionalist. But the debate over the court quickly turned into a battle between the two, as Mr. Trump pointed to Mr. Cruz’s support of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. as a worrisome point in his record, saying Justice Roberts gave the country “Obamacare,” or “might as well be called ‘Robertscare.’”

• Mr. Kasich said that he thoughtreligious liberty should not interfere with business. “If you’re in the business of commerce, conduct commerce,” he said, adding that “If you don’t agree with their lifestyle, say a prayer for them later.”

• As Mr. Rubio challenged Mr. Trump’s position on the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Trump said he would keep “pre-existing conditions” and remove “the lines around the states” to allow insurance companies to compete nationally, an idea he repeated verbatim when challenged. “Now he’s repeating himself,” Mr. Rubio said with a smile.

• Mr. Cruz accused Mr. Trump of supporting “socialized medicine,” something Mr. Trump flatly denied. But he also added he would not let people go untreated. “Call it what you want, people are not going to be dying on the street,” Mr. Trump said.

• Mr. Trump, asked about Mitt Romney’s insinuations regarding his unreleased tax returns, attributed the delay in releasing them is because he is being “audited right now for two or three years.” He added: “you don’t learn anything about anyone’s wealth from a tax return.”