A Milwaukee city council member is calling for a state investigation into Uline, the multibillion-dollar office supply company owned by Liz and Richard Uihlein, prominent donors to MAGA Republicans, following reports that the company used training visas to bring Mexican workers to U.S. warehouses for extended periods.
JoCasta Zamarripa, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin secretary of state, urged state officials to review Uline's immigration practices after an investigation published by The Guardian detailed the company's former "shuttle program." The program allegedly brought employees from Uline facilities in Mexico to work in warehouses in Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania using B1 training visas.
"Billionaires fund the crackdown, then exploit the very people targeted by it — because they think money shields them from consequences," Zamarripa wrote on Facebook. "Wisconsin needs transparency, a real investigation, and accountability that applies to everyone."
Uline, which generates an estimated $8 billion in annual revenue and employs about 9,000 people, declined to comment on Zamarripa's remarks and previously did not respond to detailed questions about the shuttle program. Sources familiar with the matter told the Guardian the program ended in late 2024 after reporting began.
The original article, published on February 10, featured testimony from Christian Valenzuela, a former employee from Mexico who said he traveled to the United States at least five times beginning in 2022 to work at Uline facilities. He said Mexican workers were paid their usual Mexican wages while working in the U.S. and were instructed to present documentation stating they were entering for training.
"We were just going to work," Valenzuela said. "They always gave us the heaviest work." He later described the treatment as discriminatory.
Valenzuela said he was injured in June 2023 while operating a forklift at a Wisconsin warehouse and was sent back to Mexico for medical evaluation. He said he ultimately required surgery for a herniated disc and nerve compression and remains unable to work. A letter from Uline's Wisconsin-based insurer denied further benefits, citing coverage under Mexico's workers' compensation system.
The Uihleins have continued to donate to Republican causes, including $1 million in 2025 to the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
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