California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a package of legislation Wednesday intended to crack down on slave rings that force people ? often poor and illegal immigrants ? to perform menial and sometimes debasing work in sweatshops, construction and prostitution. The legislation establishes a felony crime of human trafficking, which is a national problem that particularly afflicts California.
See "Governor Signs Bills Targeting Slave Rings", Jordan Rau, Los Angeles Times, September 21, 2005