The Jewish Link has learned that Teaneck-based fashion designer Ari Ladino, owner of Luana Rose Modestly on West Englewood Avenue, and his mother who worked with him, have been detained by ICE. Elie Y. Katz, the store’s landlord, said he was at a wedding when he began getting frantic calls from a woman who said her daughter’s wedding dress was at the shop. She had been unable to reach Ladino and the wedding was imminent.
Ladino’s specialty is designing simcha and special occasion custom and semi-custom gowns. Katz met the woman at the store, along with the police, and saw that packages were piling up outside the storefront. They were able to get inside and retrieve the finished dress. Katz got another call from a client of the store who needed her dress and he met her there the next day.
Ladino’s whereabouts were a mystery and troubling because he and his mother were fixtures in the shop, working long hours.
Katz reached out to Ladino’s former partner who gave him numbers of people he might contact. One was a cousin who wanted access to the store. Katz told her he had to hear from Ladino first. Meanwhile, Katz had the police go to the address on Ladino’s driver’s license to check his whereabouts but no one was there. Ladino and his mother are originally from Colombia. Katz did not have any information about their immigration status.
The next day Katz got a call from a detention center and Ari was on the phone, with only a few minutes permitted to speak. He gave permission for his cousin to gain access, and for Katz to let anyone into the store who had a dress to pick up. He also revealed that his mother had been sent to a different detention center. Katz told one woman who came from Westchester to pick up a dress for a simcha about the situation, and she immediately said she wanted to donate money to help Ladino and left a check.
Ladino also was able to call a woman who is collaborating with him as his business partner and told her to go to the store and get his phone. The partner, who requested anonymity when I spoke to her, said Ladino told her to prepare the store for a sale of all the gowns to raise money for his legal defense.
On being advised of Ari Ladino’s story, Michael Wildes, managing partner of immigration law firm Wildes & Weinberg, P.C. and a former federal prosecutor, said this is an example of the unintended consequences of how harsh immigration enforcement affects local economies and communities. “The president promised to rid us of hardened criminals, which no one would object to. We find now that the administration’s policies are intruding on some of the finest families and businesses throughout our nation. This is disappointing to hear and see firsthand from a businessman president.”
When informed of a potential sale to raise money for Ladino’s legal defense, Wildes used the case as a cautionary tale. “It would be smart for your readership to make sure that they shore up any exposure that they, their family members, employees and co-workers may have with a competent attorney to preempt the harm that we see unfolding throughout the nation.”
This is a developing story. We will provide information about a fundraising sale at Luana Rose Modestly when details are available.
Bracha Schwartz is special sections editor at The Jewish Link.
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