While a small number of the Arizona immigration laws have been upheld, the courts have slowly dismantled most of them.
The Mexican-born marine has been denied the Medal of Honor by the Pentagon.
He said in the interview that as president he would spur job creation, for example, by cracking down on what he called China's manipulation of its currency, a practice he said that lately had been taken up by Japan.
Firefighters carried out more than 500 water rescues, most involving stranded motorists, at least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers, and as many as 700 Houston-area homes were damaged.
Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers.
The recently reunited mother and daughter are on the way to a new life together.