A California teacher has sparked controversy by revealing she has married a man who lives in Gaza, saying she did so to help him obtain US citizenship and advance the fight for Palestinian rights.51 year old Laura Pinho is a dance teacher in Los Angeles. They revealed their marriage on June 16 during a CodePink Zoom webinar titled ‘Challenging Zionism in our Schools.’While congratulating Pinho on her wedding, CodePink activist Marcy Winograd invited her to talk about her life. In response, Pinho said that her decision to marry Salem SE Abu Amra was motivated by activism.“As an American citizen I have power. I have a passport that I was just born with, and how can I live in this world if I can’t do everything I can to level the playing field,” she said during the webinar.The wedding took place on April 5 through Utah’s online marriage system, according to Utah County Clerk records obtained by Israeli nonprofit NGO Monitor. Utah law allows couples to marry virtually if they obtain a county marriage license, present valid identification and have two witnesses, even if neither party is physically present in the state.However, immigration experts warn that marrying someone just to secure immigration benefits can have serious legal consequences.Englewood, New Jersey Mayor Michael Wildes, an immigration attorney and former federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, said Pinho’s public comments could invite federal investigation.“He could be criminally prosecuted, brought up on federal conspiracy charges. Marriage fraud is one of the top five crimes you can commit, including terrorism and drugs. The fact that someone would be foolish to say he actually did it makes it actionable for the federal government to investigate,” Wildes said.Under US federal law, marrying for the purpose of obtaining a green card is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).It is unclear whether Abu Amra has entered the United States.Just a month before the wedding, Pinho started a GoFundMe campaign for Abu Amra, describing her as the primary caregiver for his family of five in Gaza. “His days are spent securing clean water and gathering food for his family and helping them survive,” he wrote on the fundraising page.Pinho said the pair first connected through mutual friends on Facebook. When she donated some money to him, Abu Amra approached her to thank her and a relationship developed from there.The personal life of the teacher has also come into focus. Public records show that she shares an address with Derek Jay. Reid, 51, is an improv coach with whom she has a five-year-old son.Reed told The New York Post that she and Pinho were partners but were never legally married. They are now separated, but live at the same address in separate rooms. He also said that he was not aware that Pinho was married to Abu Amra.According to Reed, their relationship deteriorated due to disagreements over the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.“She has been radicalized. I don’t know anything about her… the crowd she runs with… I am worried about her,” he said.Pinho leads her school’s Students for Justice in Palestine club and has openly discussed incorporating pro-Palestinian themes into her dance lessons.He shared footage of a school cultural event where students performed the traditional Palestinian Dabke dance, explaining that he used the performance to discuss Palestinian history and identity.She said, “There is a lot of resistance in both the words and the moves of this song, so when I was teaching the students the actual steps of the dance, I would tell them the meaning, the significance of what the steps symbolize.”“Of course, that led to the question of why they were so attached to their land… and then I, because they asked the question, was able to share the history of what’s happened to their land,” she said.Pinho also described encouraging student activism through the school’s Palestine Solidarity Club.She said, “Students have rights, powers and abilities… They struggle, they protest and we are there to guide them… That’s the role I’ve really found as one of the co-sponsors of the Students for Justice in Palestine club.”Pinho received $179,103 in salary and benefits in 2024 while working for the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to public records cited by the NYP.