Traveling Carnival Operator Nabbed For Inhumane Trafficking Of Mexican Workers

An Arizona traveling carnival operator has been arrested for the inhumane trafficking of Mexican workers after he hired immigrants to work with him and held on to their passports and work visas so they couldn't leave, the Utah Attorney General's Office announced Friday, July 2.

Jordan Nathaniel Jensen, 31, has been charged with three counts of human trafficking for labor exploitation and nine counts of unlawful possession of another's identification documents, Fox13 Salt Lake City reported.

The practice reportedly came to light after two of the wronged Mexican workers contacted the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City, which in turn contacted the Asian Association of Utah (AAU), a service organization that helps refugees. The AAU then informed the attorney general about the incident.

Midway West Amusements carnival, which is set up at Newgate Mall and owned by Jensen and two relatives, is a traveling carnival entertainment company, which tours many states in the country providing games and rides, the affidavit stated.

According to the arrest affidavit, Midway West Amusements arranged work visas for the immigrant workers before they came to the United States and promised them $400 in payment per week for their services. Once they arrived, however, Jensen took their passports and visas. He reportedly told them “he did not want anyone to escape” and that he could do it because of “a contract his company had with the U.S. government.”

After working for a week, the two men were unsatisfied with the work conditions and believed Midway West wasn’t holding up its end of the deal, KSL reported.

According to the affidavit, the workers reportedly worked 70 hours a week without water or meal breaks and lived in a confined space inside a mobile trailer, without running water, electricity, beds, kitchen, or air conditioning.

Jensen and his company reportedly did not give them water or allow them to take breaks during their shifts.

According to the affidavit, Jensen “would constantly threaten to send them back to Mexico if they did not perform their job well."

When the workers expressed their desire to quit the job, Jensen reportedly told them that he would not return their passports or pay them their final paycheck until they were back in Mexico.

On Wednesday, June 30, a man wearing a hidden microphone and camera was sent by investigators to Jensen to request his pay and his passport. Jensen refused and offered to buy him a plane ticket to Mexico, where would give him his passport and pay.

On Thursday, July 1, investigators served a search warrant and found nine passports of current and former workers from his trailer. Jensen was subsequently arrested.

Officials asked the court for a no-bail warrant for Jensen stating that he "lives a transient existence" with the amusement company. The attorney general’s office revealed that the investigation is ongoing and that more arrests may follow.