The City of McAllen, Texas, received $1,940,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the Rio Grande Valley Border Interoperability Regional Project (RGVBIRP). This project is designed to improve emergency and public safety communications between federal agencies, local first responders, and law enforcement departments. The RGVBIRP is a demonstration of the ability of public safety authorities in the U.S. and Mexico to communicate via a secure connection, in real‐time, during emergency situations such as natural disasters, national threats, or when in pursuit of criminal activities along and across the U.S.‐Mexico border.