12 2 STA T .507 7 PUBLIC LA W 110 –4 57 —DE C.2 3, 200 8(vi)sta tisti c a l i nform ation an d ot he r data on u naccom p anied alien children as provided for in section 462 ( b )( 1 )( J ) of the H omeland S ecurit yA ctof2 0 02 (6 U. S. C .2 79 (b)(1)(J)). ( D ) PLACEM E NTI N R EM OV AL P ROCEE D IN GS . — Any unaccompanied alien child sou g ht to be removed by the Department of Homeland Security , e x cept for an unaccom - panied alien child from a contiguous country sub j ect to exceptions under subsection (a)(2), shall be— (i) placed in removal proceedings under section 240 of the I mmigration and N ationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1229a)
(ii) eligible for relief under section 240 B of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229c) at no cost to the child; and (iii) provided access to counsel in accordance w ith subsection (c)( 5 ). (b) COM B ATING C H ILD T RA F FIC K ING AND EX PLOITATION IN THE UNITED STATES.— (1) CARE AND C U STOD Y OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL- DREN.—Consistent with section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279), and except as otherwise provided under subsection (a), the care and custody of all unaccompanied alien children, including responsibility for their detention, where appropriate, shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (2) NOTIFICATION.—Each department or agency of the F ed- eral G overnment shall notify the Department of Health and Human services within 48 hours upon— (A) the apprehension or discovery of an unaccompanied alien child; or (B) any claim or suspicion that an alien in the custody of such department or agency is under 18 years of age. ( 3 ) TRANSFERS OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.— Except in the case of exceptional circumstances, any department or agency of the Federal Government that has an unaccom- panied alien child in custody shall transfer the custody of such child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services not later than 72 hours after determining that such child is an unaccompanied alien child. (4) AGE DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Home- land Security, shall develop procedures to ma k e a prompt deter- mination of the age of an alien, which shall be used by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services for children in their respective custody. At a minimum, these procedures shall take into account mul- tiple forms of evidence, including the non-exclusive use of radiographs, to determine the age of the unaccompanied alien. (c) PROVIDING SAFE AND SECURE PLACEMENTS FOR CHILDREN.— (1) POLICIES AND PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Homeland Security, Attorney General, and Secretary of State shall establish policies and programs to ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States are protected from traffickers and other persons seeking to victimi z e or otherwise engage such children in criminal, harmful, or exploitative activity, including policies Procedu re s.D e a d lin e. Deadline.
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