ACORN Accused of Using Federal Money for Immigration Battle

Friday, September 18, 2009, 9:31 AM EDT

Phoenix, Ariz.
Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is subpoenaing financial data from ACORN saying that the group has used federal funds to campaign against his immigration enforcement efforts. He says the money was supposed to be used for housing and social services.

Sheriff Arpaio is specifically looking for evidence that ACORN financially supported a Mexican national who claims that he was abusively treated by the sheriff's enforcement efforts. The case Melendres v. Arpaio claims that the sheriff's office racially profiled the victim.

“I believe the organization used state and federal funds meant to help poor people to conduct a campaign against me and my officers,â€