ST. LOUIS—U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell says a Nicaraguan man who had been living in St. Lous while awaiting a ruling on an asylum claim does not have legal counsel as he sits in a Louisiana corrections facility pending removal. Bell met with Boanerges Flores-Bravo at the Richwoods Corrections Center in Monroe, La. Tuesday morning. Flores-Bravo was arrested May 18 during a check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. An agency statement said he was arrested “for being unlawfully present in the United States.” “Generally speaking, the mere application for an immigration benefit does not confer legal status to remain in the United States,” the statement said. Flores-Bravo’s wife Alba Matamoro Hernandez was referred to an alternatives to detention program. The couple has a grade-school aged daughter. Matamoro Hernandez met with ICE officials Monday and confirmed that she and their daughter plan to self-deport. ICE provides free travel and $2600 and fine forgiveness to those who self-deport. It would revoke the asylum request but reserves “the chance to return to the U.S. the right legal way to pursue the American dream. If not, enforcement actions will result in arrest and deportation without eligibility to return,” the agency said. Bell brought a message from Flores-Bravo’s family with him and left with one for them from him, he told Spectrum News. Bell is also bringing signed paperwork that allows the congressman’s office to learn more about the case’s specifics. “Both of them are operating under the assumption that the other is going to get deported. And that's what's driving their decision. Both of them have made it clear they would prefer to stay here,” Bell said Tuesday. “Murderers, people charged with sexual assault and violent clients are afforded an attorney. They're afforded afforded legal consultation consultation throughout the process. They can make informed decisions. And with these individuals that are being detained by ICE, many of which are not charged with anything, they haven't committed any crimes, they are being held in not detainment facilities but correctional facilities, or jails. And they're not afforded any of these rights. And they're also being instructed to do things and sign away their rights without legal consultation, often with threats,” he added. An ICE statement said immigrants receive “full due process on the merits of their case before an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review,” and in Flores-Bravo’s case while in custody, communications access to legal representation. Under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, detainees are not entitled to legal representation in the way that a criminal defendant is entitled to a public defender in the event he or she cannot afford counsel. It’s unclear when the deportations will take place. Bell’s visit was a first step toward seeing what’s possible as his office gets involved. A GoFundMe account started by a teacher in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District where the couple worked on the custodial staff has raised $31,000 for legal fees and other needs.