FBI raids health clinic in Camden

Federal authorities raided a mental health clinic in downtown Camden on Thursday morning and spent hours carrying cardboard boxes out of the building.

Authorities would not comment on the investigation into the Nueva Vida Behavioral Health Center of N.J., which is a half-block from City Hall on Market Street. FBI agents were accompanied by representatives from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as an agent from Homeland Security Investigations. Officers from the Camden County police force and representatives of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office also were on the scene.

As agents loaded boxes into the back of a truck parked in front of the building, patients arriving for appointments or to pick up medication were told the office was closed for the day. One woman, who would not give her name, said she goes to the clinic to get pills for anxiety and depression. The agents gave her a phone number she could call to get her medicine, she said.

It was not clear how many employees of the clinic were present during the raid. One woman in front of the building said she worked there but did not know anything about the investigation.

Nueva Vida is a nonprofit community health center that has been in Camden since 1998. Executive director Cesar Tavera founded the clinic with the goal of serving the city's Spanish-speaking adults and children.

In October 2014, the organization was considering opening a location in Vineland, N.J., and the city lent it $35,000 to assist with financing, according to minutes from Vineland's council meeting. The status of that project was unclear Thursday.

asteele@phillynews.com 856-779-3876 @AESteele