; and (4) maintaining custody of an individual pursuant to section 287(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1357(d)(2) ). (c) Obligation To respond to inquiries The Secretary of Homeland Security shall respond to an inquiry by a Federal, State, tribal, or local government agency that seeks to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents for the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104–208 ; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by amending the item relating to 642 to read as follows: Sec. 642. Communication and cooperation between government agencies and the Department of Homeland Security. . 6. Compensating States for detaining criminal aliens Section 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1231(i) ) is amended to read as follows: (i) Incarceration or detention (1) Defined term In this subsection, the term undocumented criminal alien means an alien who— (A) has been convicted of a felony or of 2 or more misdemeanors; and (B) (i) entered the United States without inspection or at any time or place other than as designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security; (ii) was the subject of exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings at the time the alien was taken into custody by the State or a political subdivision of the State; or (iii) (I) was admitted as a nonimmigrant; and (II) at the time the alien was taken into custody by the State or a political subdivision of the State— (aa) failed to maintain the nonimmigrant status in which the alien was admitted or to which it was changed under section 248