Yesterday MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced an agreement to cut down on human trafficking and offer world-class Cuban players a safe and legal way to play for American teams. I thought back to 1999, when one of the first breakthroughs in U.S.-Cuban relations was a baseball series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban national team in Havana and Baltimore. The welcoming spirit of both American and Cuban fans was on full display, and as I took these photos 19 years ago it gave me great hope for the future of both our countries.

Though the First Step Act does not include all the criminal justice reforms I would like to see, as the name of our bill implies, it’s an important first step toward more fairness in our criminal justice system. Today on the Senate Floor I urged all senators to support our bill.