State top choice of human traffickers

California is a top destination for human traffickers who coerce people into the sex trade or hard labor through force or fraud, according to an 18-month government study released Tuesday.

The report by the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery says California is particularly vulnerable to human trafficking because of its international border, ports and airports; its booming immigrant population; and a large economy that includes industries that attract forced labor.

Researchers say 80% of the victims are female and half are children. The federal government says human trafficking is second only to the drug trade as an international criminal industry.

The problem goes far beyond the sex trade, with migrant farm and construction workers, household employees and workers in motels, restaurants and clothing factories frequently vulnerable to abuse.