On Wednesday, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) announced that the bipartisan Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The legislation, which has been working its way through Congress over the last several weeks, requires the declassification and release of government documents dealing with unsolved crimes during the Civil Rights era.

The legislation was co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and carried in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL). The bill “started with a group of talented high school students who encountered a problem and wanted to fund a solution.”

“This moment has been years in the making,” Jones said in a press release. “This law sends a powerful message to those impacted by these horrific crimes and to young folks in this country who want to make a difference. I know how painful these Civil Rights-era crimes remain for communities so by shedding light on these investigations I hope we can provide an opportunity for healing and closure.”

For Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson, the passage of this law means that struggles he’s faced in the past may not have to be endured by others moving forward.

In pursuing an arrest in the Civil Rights-era Jimmy Lee Jackson case, Jackson had to claw through photos in Washington, D.C. with the help of an agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). After that, he had to research mounds of FBI documents relevant to the 1965 murder.

“That was a long process, to be frank,” Jackson said. “A law like this will quicken the pace of getting these records.”

Though Jackson was eventually successful in his pursuit – former Alabama state trooper James Bernard Fowler was convicted of manslaughter – Jackson believes the new legislation will be a positive change.

“It’s just a good situation where the public, law enforcement and the press can have access to these documents,” Jackson said.

Jackson also noted that many families become frustrated once these cases have dragged on for so long with no arrest.

“This just gives them an outlet to vent their frustration,” Jackson said.

For his part, moves are already being made to take on the handful of unsolved Civil Rights-era cases known in Dallas and Wilcox counties.

“We’ve already started that process,” Jackson said.

Though some families don’t want any further investigation and have moved on, Jackson said some are still in pursuit of information that has been inaccessible for decades.

“Maybe this law will help,” Jackson said.