It was only last summer when we witnessed a phenomenon that gained the Rio Grande Valley national attention — unaccompanied Central American children were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border by the tens of thousands. Thousands more children crossed with adults, often women, who arrived penniless and scared.

My office received phone calls from federal agencies, city officials, religious organizations, nonprofit social service providers and landowners who encountered these immigrants, some with small babies in tow.

Without food, shelter or resources, these children and family units were at our mercy. An international humanitarian crisis unfolded right on our doorstep.

These children and families faced incredible risks as they made their way to the border from their homes in Central America. As the federal government rushed to find a way to deal with this unprecedented situation, law enforcement, local municipalities, nonprofit organizations, religious institutions and kind-hearted volunteers took it upon themselves to care for these children and families, providing warm food, shelter and protection.

These entities did this out of the goodness of their heart without expecting to be reimbursed for their expenses.

However, our local communities should not have to bear the financial burden of a crisis our governments are responsible for. That is why I reached across the aisle and worked with both Republicans and Democrats to come up with real solutions.

I added language to the fiscal 2015 Department of Homeland Security Funding Bill in the House of Representatives to include a provision that makes costs of providing humanitarian relief to unaccompanied children and families eligible for reimbursement under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) State Homeland Security Grants.

The bill passed with my provision, meaning that border communities across the American Southwest, including the Rio Grande Valley, are now eligible to be reimbursed for the monies they spent on humanitarian relief to these children and families. This includes reimbursements for food, water, hygiene products, medicine, medical supplies and temporary housing, as well as costs for transportation to and from temporary housing or to permanent housing.

This is the first time FEMA grants will be allowed to be used for reimbursement of humanitarian relief. These federal funds are administered by the state of Texas and reimbursement requests — such that from the city of McAllen and Hidalgo County — will have to go through the scrutiny and approval of the state administering agency. But I encourage the state of Texas to fund our communities’ reimbursement requests as quickly as possible.

As a lifelong resident of the border, I know all too well the problems that our communities face. It is important that the federal government mitigate these expenses and provide resources to assist with handling the issues that are unique to the cities and counties along the border. For this corporative effort, I thank all the entities who have helped, as well as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. John Carter, chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, for working with me on a bipartisan solution to this problem.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is a Democrat from Laredo. He sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. This column was written specially for The Monitor.