Rep. Bell Visits Constituent Detained by ICE in Louisiana

Monroe, LA- Today, Representative Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) visited the Richwood Correctional Center, currently being used as a detention center by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Rep. Bell visited a constituent from Missouri's First District who is currently detained in the Louisiana correctional facility. He was able to secure a privacy form needed to assist his constituent with his immigration case.

"When I heard that one of my constituents had been separated from his family, brought to a detention center in Louisiana, and ICE officials weren't even allowing him to sign a privacy form so we could help him with his case, I immediately headed there myself. I was able to secure this form today, and we'll do everything we can to reunite him with his family," said Rep. Bell. "But there is a great deal more work to be done. People being detained by ICE deserve so much more than they are being given. I'm fighting for fair access to legal representation, help with the immigration process, and better treatment in ICE facilities for detainees."

Boanerges Flores-Bravo, a resident of the St. Louis region, was detained on May 18, 2026 during his scheduled immigration meeting for being "unlawfully present in the United States," according to ICE agents. Flores-Bravo and his family came to the United States in 2022, seeking asylum and being granted work permits and an authorization to stay in the U.S. during their immigration proceedings.

Flores-Bravo was sent to Ste. Genevieve County Jail in Missouri before being transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana.

Flores-Bravo's wife, Alba Del Socorro Matamoro-Hernandez, and his daughter are being allowed to remain in the United States during his detainment. Del Socorro Matamoro-Hernandez is required to wear an ankle monitor and ICE has recommended that she and her daughter self-deport to Nicaragua. According to ICE, Flores-Bravo will be deported this month.

Rep. Bell is a member of the House Oversight Committee and conducted congressional oversight on the facility in addition to speaking with Flores-Bravo.

Rep. Bell brought handwritten notes from his family with him on Tuesday. Rep. Bell had the opportunity to spend time with his wife and daughter on Monday afternoon after a scheduled check-in they had at St. Louis's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.