A Milwaukee city council member has called for an investigation into the immigration practices of Uline, an office supply company owned by Liz and Richard Uihlein. The couple are among the biggest donors to MAGA Republicans in the 2024 election.
JoCasta Zamarripa, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin secretary of state ahead of November’s election, made the demand after a Guardian investigation into Uline’s past use of a so-called “shuttle program”. The company is privately owned, generates about $8bn in annual revenue and employs around 9,000 people.
Details of the shuttle program
According to the Guardian, Uline brought workers from its facilities in Mexico to warehouses in Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania. The workers stayed for weeks or months at a time.
The workers were reportedly brought on visas meant for training or short business visits, not for regular full-time jobs. Critics said these visas were not intended for long-term warehouse work and that the practice may have violated immigration rules.
Immigration lawyers said that using visitor or business visas for long-term employment could be illegal if visa conditions were broken. If proven, such practices could lead to legal consequences under US immigration law and could involve Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Sources familiar with the matter told The Guardian the shuttle program was stopped in late 2024, shortly after it became public. Uline declined to comment on Zamarripa’s remarks and has previously refused to answer detailed questions about the program.
Political criticism and response
Zamarripa criticised the company and called for transparency and accountability.
“Billionaires fund the crackdown, then exploit the very people targeted by it – because they think money shields them from consequences,” Zamarripa wrote on a post of Facebook. “Wisconsin needs transparency, a real investigation, and accountability that applies to everyone.”
She also said she would ask state officials to investigate Uline’s practices and possible legal violations. Zamarripa did not respond to requests for an interview but told the Wisconsin Examiner that she plans to push for an official investigation.
“The billionaire Uihlein family, among the biggest Republican mega-donors in the nation, have helped bankroll the very politicians, including Donald Trump, behind today’s out-of-control immigration crackdowns,” she wrote in her Facebook statement, which is dedicated to her campaign.
“Now we learn that workers in Pleasant Prairie say Mexican employees were pushed into dangerous, exhausting conditions and punished for speaking up – all while fueling Uline’s enormous wealth,” Zamarripa wrote.
Labour rights group Voces de la Frontera also criticized the program, saying it showed unfair treatment of immigrant workers and possible exploitation under rules meant for short-term work.
Worker’s account
A Guardian report earlier this month included an interview with Mexican worker Christian Valenzuela, who described his experience in the shuttle program. He said he was injured while working in Wisconsin, then sent back to Mexico and eventually lost his job.
“We were just going to work,” he said. “They always gave us more work, because we were stronger workers. Because the Americans perhaps work at their own pace, going little by little. Whereas we Mexicans are faster, more productive, more everything.”
Political background and donations
Zamarripa is a former Wisconsin state representative from Milwaukee and now represents a South Side district on the Milwaukee city council. She has announced plans to seek the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin secretary of state in the August primary.
The Uihleins remain major donors to the Republican Party. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, the couple donated $1m in the first six months of 2025 to the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans.
The group’s president, Nick Jacobs, previously received $1m from Elon Musk. The organisation has endorsed US congressman Tom Tiffany for the Republican nomination for governor. Tiffany has also been endorsed by Donald Trump, a move that led another early candidate, Josh Schoemann, to withdraw from the race.