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TAMPA, Fla. -- With retail politicking all but over now that the Republican presidential primary has descended on this massive and diverse Southern swing state, a smattering of divisive issues are coming to the fore.

Immigration figures to flare up again as a major issue in the race, especially given the range of the electorate in Florida.

Just days before the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney said he would veto the DREAM Act in its current form, which led analysts to suggest he would have trouble cutting into President Obama’s share of the Hispanic vote were he to become the Republican nominee.

In NBC’s debate Monday night, Romney and Rick Santorum reiterated that they would veto the legislation, but Newt Gingrich differed. He said he would work to get a “signable version” of the bill, suggesting that children of illegal immigrants who have joined the military have earned the right to citizenship, but that those who instead have gone to college here do not -- because they have broken the law. Romney said he agrees with that stance.

Those positions, though, will likely require more clarification before Florida voters head to the polls.

Romney indicated he favors “self-deportation.” He said he doesn’t want the government to “round people up,” but that illegal immigrants who can’t get jobs and don’t have legal documentation will return to their native countries on their own and apply for citizenship. It was a puzzling statement that struck most analysts as untenable.

Romney defended his statement by advocating an “e-Verify” system that would identify whether individuals are in the country legally, and Rick Santorum echoed support for the same.