$14 from each item sold will be donated to the
Maine Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project

The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) helps low income immigrants improve their
legal status and works for more just and humane laws and policies affecting immigrants.

Why is Devenish Wines, a small wine wholesaler, raising money for the Maine Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project?

 

Here’s the thought process: the food industry in America rests on immigrants. The statement on the back of the shirts is just a fact: many of the people on our farms, in food distribution, in our commercial kitchens, and yes in vineyards and wineries are immigrants. If you think about it on a deeper level our whole food culture is made up of the varied cuisines of immigrants. Food is exciting not because it just fills our bellies but because the nuances of it express the many cultures that came together to create and constantly re-make America. The flavors and ingredient choices of different dishes tell us stories about our pasts and the evolution of those cultures coming together here in America. I don’t think any of the statements above are partisan or controversial. Our industry rests on immigrants' hard work and their history. I feel we as an industry and a nation owe a huge debt to the immigrants who have come and built this country.

 

As you all probably know the current administration has stepped up attempts to deport people and has set daily quotas for deportations. This has led to some people with legal status, work permits, student visas, etc being detained, deported, or held without access to lawyers or the ability to communicate where they are.  I want the Federal Government to follow the law and for people to have the legal rights that they are due under the Constitution. The 4th Amendment prohibits anyone from being detained without probable cause; if law enforcement starts going into homes and work places to indiscriminately search people that infringes on the rights of citizens and non citizens alike. Everyone, citizen or non citizen, should still have a chance to explain their situation and not be summarily held with no recourse. ILAP can’t change the rules and they’re certainly not going to prevent the immigration system from deporting criminals, but they can help people who may have filled out a form incorrectly or brought the wrong documents to a hearing and were then detained. ILAP can help people who do have some legal standing here to navigate the system and maybe find a way to stay here and continue to contribute to the communities they’re a part of. These donations won’t change the system but they can help in a very small way to address the huge imbalance of resources that is stacked against anyone detained by ICE.  So why is this little wine company doing this? This isn’t partisan, it’s just the right thing for our community and industry and honestly to make sure that our Government follows its own laws.

 

Here's a link to a very short Economist article about ICE routinely detaining people who are at immigration hearings and do in fact have legal standing to stay in the country:

 

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/07/10/what-goes-on-in-americas-immigration-courts

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For questions and all international shipping inquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out to DEVENISHWINES@GMAIL.COM.