Alan Gross invited to the State of the Union

Tomorrow night (Tuesday Jan. 20) at 9 p.m. President Obama will deliver his sixth State of the Union address to the American people. Putting aside passage of the Affordable Care Act during his first year in office, the President may have had his best year as a leader in 2014 when he defied Congress and ordered, by way of executive action, changes to the country’s broken immigration system, and also assured himself a lofty place in the history of the U.S. by announcing a re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Seated near the First Lady Tuesday night will be Alan and Judy Gross. Alan is the Maryland man who returned home last month after spending five years imprisoned in Cuba. He was released as a humanitarian gesture by the Cuban government and as part of the new rapprochements between both governments.

During the State of the Union presidents also use the opportunity to announce plans for the coming year, and in the case of President Obama, he may lay out his vision for the last two years of his presidency.

As President Obama states in his preview to the address, “We have the opportunity to continue the momentum of the last year [… and] to really capitalize on some of the long-term trends that [puts] America in the best position to take advantage of the 21st century.”

We’ll be watching.