Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra attended the regional sheriff’s conference Tuesday in Austin.

All four sheriffs in the Rio Grande Valley attended, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott.

Guerra said Abbott’s efforts with Operation Lone Star is leading to more funds for border sheriffs.

“If we did not have the funding that we receive from our federal and state partners, then what we can do to help them will be very, very limited because we just wouldn't have the time,” Guerra said. “Regardless of how you see his policies, Governor Abbott has always, always made border security one of his top priorities — even though some of Washington’s elected officials, especially this last administration, abandoned all the border sheriffs."

Guerra said Hidalgo County commissioners recently applied for Operation Lone Star funding to allow the sheriff’s department to pay deputies for overtime.

It’s not clear when the funding will be available, or how much the department could get.