A Bronx, NY Congressman has filed a bill with the US House of Representatives to allow Cuban baseball players to play baseball in the American major leagues without having to first defect from their homeland. Democrat Jose Serrano introduced similar legislation last year without success.

Under the proposed legislation, Cuban baseball players would only be permitted to have visas during the baseball season.

Serrano says he introduced the bill because it is unfair to make Cuban players renounce their countries and their loved ones to play in the United States. He also believes the bill would offer an opportunity to open doors with Cuba. The Congressman is a strong advocate for normalizing relations between the US and Cuba.

Critics of the bill claim it is just a scheme to send money to the Castro government, a charge Serrana strongly disputes.

The Cuban government has also recently indicated it is interested in cooperating in sports with the US. Cuban Sports Minister Humberto Rodriguez told the Spanish-language news agency Prensa Latina "We are receptive to any proposal by the major leagues as long as it respects the principals of Cuban socialist sports." Fidel Castro also recently told American reporters that he is not against Cuban teams competing in the US.