TEANECK, NJ — The Jewish Link reported Wednesday morning that a Teaneck fashion designer and his mother have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leaving behind a storefront filled with wedding and simcha gowns and customers scrambling to retrieve dresses ahead of upcoming weddings.

Ari Ladino, owner of Luana Rose Modestly on West Englewood Avenue, and his mother, Chava Rose Ladino, who worked alongside him at the shop, were detained by ICE. The Ladinos are originally from Colombia. Their immigration status was not immediately known.

The situation came to light when landlord and Teaneck Deputy Mayor Elie Y. Katz was attending a wedding and began receiving frantic calls from a woman whose daughter’s wedding dress was at Luana Rose. She had been unable to reach Ladino and the wedding was imminent.

Katz met the woman at the store, along with police, and found packages piling up outside the locked storefront. They were eventually able to enter and retrieve the finished gown.

The following day, another customer contacted Katz about a dress she needed for an upcoming simcha. Katz again met her at the store and helped her retrieve it.

Ladino’s sudden disappearance was particularly concerning because he and his mother were fixtures at the shop, routinely working long hours. Katz contacted Ladino’s former partner and eventually obtained contact information for relatives. He also asked police to check the address listed on Ladino’s driver’s license. No one was there.

Then Katz received an unexpected call from a detention center.

Ari Ladino was on the other end, with only a few minutes to speak. He authorized his cousin to access the store and gave Katz permission to allow customers with dresses inside to retrieve them. He also revealed that his mother had been taken to a separate detention facility.

One customer who traveled from Westchester to retrieve a dress for an upcoming simcha was so moved by what she heard that she immediately offered to help with Ladino’s legal expenses and left a check.

Ladino also contacted a woman who works with him as a business partner and instructed her to retrieve his phone and begin preparing the store for a potential sale of the gowns to help fund his legal defense.

Michael Wildes, managing partner of Wildes & Weinberg and a former federal prosecutor, said the case illustrated what he described as the broader community impact of aggressive immigration enforcement.

“The president promised to rid us of hardened criminals, which no one would object to,” Wildes said. “We find now that the administration’s policies are intruding on some of the finest families and businesses throughout our nation.”

Wildes urged business owners and families to understand their potential immigration exposure and consult qualified counsel.

Meanwhile, customers with dresses at Luana Rose are being urged to contact Katz regarding arrangements to retrieve them.

A fundraising sale of the store’s gowns may be held to help cover Ladino’s legal expenses. Details were not immediately available.

BC News Now has reached out to Katz, Wildes, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment.