12 2 STA T .508 1 PUBLIC LA W 110 –4 5 7—DE C.2 3, 2008 (A)insub s ect i o n( a )( 2 ) , b y a d din g att h e end the f o l- lo w ing
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‘( E )A P P LICAB ILI TY.—S ub p a r agraphs (A) and ( B ) shall not apply to an unacco m panied alien child (as defined in section 46 2(g) of the H omeland Security Act of 2 0 02 (6 U .S. C .2 79 (g))). ’ ’
and (B) in subsection (b)( 3 ), by adding at the end the fol- lowing: ‘‘(C) IN ITIAL JUR I SD ICTI O N.—An asylum officer (as defined in section 23 5 (b)( 1 )(E)) shall ha v e initial j urisdic- tion over any asylum application filed by an unaccompanied alien child (as defined in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))), regardless of whether filed in accordance with this section or section 235(b).’’. ( 8 )SP E CIALI Z ED NEEDS O F UNACCO M PANIED ALIEN C H IL- DREN.—Applications for asylum and other forms of relief from removal in which an unaccompanied alien child is the principal applicant shall be governed by regulations which ta k e into account the speciali z ed needs of unaccompanied alien children and which address both procedural and substantive aspects of handling unaccompanied alien children’s cases. (e) T RAININ G .—The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Home- land Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney G eneral shall provide specialized training to all F ed- eral personnel, and upon re q uest, state and local personnel, who have substantive contact with unaccompanied alien children. Such personnel shall be trained to work with unaccompanied alien chil- dren, including identifying children who are victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and children for whom asylum or special immigrant relief may be appropriate, including children described in subsection (a)(2). (f) AMENDMENTS TO THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002.— (1) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section 462(b)(1)( L )of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(1)(L)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, including regular follow-up visits to such facilities, placements, and other entities, to assess the continued suitability of such placements.’’. (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 462(b) of such Act (6 U.S.C. 279(b)) is further amended— (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(G),’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1),’’; and (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(4) R ULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— N othing in paragraph (2)(B) may be construed to require that a bond be posted for an unaccompanied alien child who is released to a qualified sponsor.’’. (g) D EFINITION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—For pur- poses of this section, the term ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning given such term in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)). (h) EFFECTI V E DATE.—This section— (1) shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) shall also apply to all aliens in the United States in pending proceedings before the Department of Homeland Ap p licab ili ty.
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