"[1]California is particularly vulnerable because of its "proximity to international borders, number of ports and airports, significant immigrant population, and large economy that includes industries that attract forced labor.
[4] According to the 2011 Department of State report, California, together with New York, Texas, and Oklahoma, has the largest concentrations of survivors of human trafficking.
[5] Federally, human trafficking is defined[6] as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery".
The employers exploit their victims by forcing them to work unreasonable hours, paying them less than minimum wages and preventing them from leaving their homes.
[16] Prostitution and sex services represented the largest share of documented human trafficking activities in California (roughly 47%).
[15] On the other hand, a federally funded task force conducted a survey and instead looked at a sample of victims reported to the authorities.
Specifically, the report mentioned that Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Clara counties account for the highest number of sexually oriented massage parlors.
[20] The FBI has 13 full-time task forces dedicated to investigating high-profile child prostitution enterprises throughout the United States—two are in California, with one in Los Angeles and another in Orange County.
[23] Most victims of human trafficking in California, whether international or domestic, either come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or are vulnerable to the temptations of a better life and job.
[25] As immigration laws become more stringent and anti-immigrant antagonism increases, undocumented victims of human trafficking became more prone to coercion into undesirable jobs.
Similarly, domestic traffickers look for easy and vulnerable targets, particularly young aged boys and girls in schools, foster homes, and homeless-shelters and streets, by offering them money, protection and drugs.
Traffickers psychologically manipulate young people by acting as a parent or a lover, in order to gain their trust and take advantage of their make them emotional vulnerability.
[25] Women and young girls are transported from the Mexico–California border to the northern San Diego County, where they are controlled by pimps who work alongside the traffickers.
[25] Research shows that the criminal networks in San Diego control more than 50 brothels, each of which employs hundreds of Mexican girls and women over the course of the year.
This raises bigger health concerns as these exploited girls are at high risks of having STDs such as HIV/AIDS without being aware of the calamity of the disease.
These include, but are not limited to: A recent study[38] conducted through interviews with traffickers found that most federally convicted offenders either operated alone (57%) or with 1-3 members through social/family ties, with no known organizational support.
[61] In an effort to curb the spread of trafficking, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord in 2012 to expand prosecutions of criminals typically members of transnational gangs who engage in the trafficking of human beings between the United States and Mexico.
[63] If a person under the age of 18 engaged in what the state defines as human trafficking, their actions would be punishable with a prison sentence of up to eight years.
[64] People convicted of obtaining forced labor through human trafficking faces either five, eight, or twelve years in prison, plus a fine of up to $500,000.
[64] People coercing a minor under the age of 18 to engage in commercial sex acts can receive five to twelve years in prison or a prison sentence of fifteen years to life if the relevant jury determines that they used "force, fear, violence, or threat of injury to the alleged victim"; a $500,000 fine; and the requirement to register as a sex offender.
These areas' close proximity to the international border, diverse population, and presence of seaports and airports makes them vulnerable to human trafficking.
[70][71] Los Angeles is a hotspot for human trafficking because of its diverse population, international connections, and involvement in the fashion industry.
[71] Los Angeles has been focusing on public awareness campaigns in hopes that more people will notice possible indicators of human trafficking.
[75] A significant focus of this regional task force is to work with the LASD Human Trafficking Unit to treat child survivors as victims and not criminals.
[75] In 2018, Los Angeles headed the three day "Operation Reclaim and Rebuild" to create a large scale attack on human trafficking.
[35] One report claimed that out of 20 high schools in San Diego interviewed, all had had sex trafficking recruitment taken place on their campus, while 90% had sex-trafficking cases.
Task forces and made up of law enforcement and local, state, and federal prosecutors, as well as other governmental leaders and nongovernmental organizations.