TRUMP MEGA-DONORS WHO COMPLAINED OF "INVASION" HIRE MEXICAN WORKERS

By Stephanie Kirchgaessner and 

Alice Herman 

The Guardian

A company owned by two of Donald Trump’s top mega-donors has routinely brought dozens of its workers from Mexico to staff its warehouses in Wisconsin and other locations even though they do not appear to have permission to work in the U.S., according to a Guardian investigation.

Uline – a giant Wisconsin-based office and shipping supply company controlled by billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein – shuttles in its own workers from Mexico, who are using tourist visas and visas meant for employees who are entering the US temporarily to receive professional training, known as B1 visas. But instead of being part of a dedicated training program, the Mexican employees stay for one to six months and – sources with direct knowledge of the matter allege – perform normal work in Uline’s US warehouses.

Lawyers and immigrants’ advocates told the Guardian they believed the alleged practice is likely illegal and could be exploitative of the workers enrolled in the program.

The company has allegedly used employees without proper work permits even as Dick Uihlein’s Super Pac, Restoration Pac, supported Trump’s presidential campaign with a TV advertisement attacking his opponent Kamala Harris for allowing an immigrant “invasion” at the US-Mexico border. 

The Uihleins have emerged as a major force in rightwing politics, spending tens of millions of dollars supporting candidates, including president-elect Trump and other rightwing politicians, who have called for a mass deportation of immigrants. They were second-largest political donors in this year’s election, giving more than even Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.

Inside Uline, a privately held company worth an estimated $8 billion, the Mexico-US program is called “shuttle support” and was launched about three years ago, sources said.

The Guardian’s reporting is based on interviews with sources who have direct knowledge of shuttle support and spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, and internal documents seen by the Guardian that referred to the worker program, including rules for family members and other guests who are allowed to visit the workers. 

Over the course of a months-long investigation, Guardian reporters also observed a dozen Uline workers from Mexico living in a hotel near the company’s Pleasant Prairie headquarters, where the company pays for their lodging, food and rental cars. A staff member at the hotel confirmed that Uline was among the first customers at the hotel to book “blocks” of suites for workers when the hotel opened about three years ago.

A spokesperson for Uline and the Uihleins declined to comment.

Sources who spoke to the Guardian alleged that executives at the highest level of the company, including Liz Uihlein, know about shuttle support. It is not clear why executives have turned to staff that are employed by Uline in Mexico to work at their US warehouses, but sources said it could be connected to the company’s strict and complicated hiring practices, which include follicle drug testing of employees.

“They were not able to staff their warehouses, especially in Pennsylvania. So they looked at Mexico for workforce,” alleged one person with close knowledge of the matter.

The Mexican workers have an implicit understanding that they should tell border officials that they are entering the US to be trained at Uline, sources alleged.

One Uline document seen by the Guardian, which was used by a Uline employee in Mexico to enter the U.S., said the employee would be receiving training in warehouse safety, understanding how to use vehicle-mounted unit devices, and understanding how to identify warehouse locations. Legal experts said B1 visas are intended to be used for short-term visits – no longer than six months – and that workers are not meant to engage in “productive employment” in that time.

Once the Mexican workers enter the U.S., sources alleged, they work regular shifts in Uline warehouses alongside their American counterparts.

“They are actually doing work. Not training,” said one person with direct knowledge of the situation. The person added that Uline was “very careful” with the amount of time the Mexican employees stayed in the US.

They are paid their Mexican wages into accounts in Mexico. Although they receive some extra compensation for traveling to the U.S. and staying there, they are paid far less than American counterparts, sources told the Guardian.

“The reason employees want to participate is because they give bonuses to those employees. They are risking their [tourist] visas. If they find out they are working, their visas would be revoked,” said one person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sources who spoke to the Guardian said Uline pays all the costs for their Mexico-based workers to leave Mexico and fly to warehouse locations in the US, including in Wisconsin and Allentown, Pennsylvania. About 60 to 70 workers from the company’s sites in Mexico may be working in the U.S. at any time, the sources alleged.

One internal Uline document reviewed by the Guardian suggests that at least some Uline workers in Mexico have been hired expressly to take part in the shuttle support program, and that workers understand that their future jobs are dependent on their participation in the program for indefinite periods.

Another internal document shows that requests for Mexican participants came from a senior executive at Uline’s Pleasant Prairie headquarters, where some warehouses are based.

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