Governor Greg Abbott announced today that his Office of Public Safety (PSO), in cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), has increased the reward amount to $5,000 for information leading to the identification of used shelters in transnational criminal activity. . The Texas Stash House Program encourages Texans to help fight transnational crime by anonymously reporting information on stash houses used to facilitate human trafficking, drug smuggling, and people smuggling.
“As President Biden’s dangerous open border policies continue to allow cartels and other criminal organizations to operate freely in our communities, it is more important than ever that Texans step up and report suspicious activity,” said Governor Abbott. “DPS and local law enforcement partners are working around the clock to prevent transnational crimes from taking place in communities around the state. These stashes contain people or drugs that might otherwise have passed through Texas and the nation through dangerous loopholes remaining. from the Biden administration’s refusal to secure the border. With the help of Texans across the state, we can bring criminals to justice, destroy their illegal enterprises, and keep our communities safe. “
Since Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, DPS troopers have uncovered more than 170 shelters, leading to the discovery of over 1,900 illegal immigrants. This week, DPS successfully conducted a sting operation based on the first tip approved for the newly increased reward amount which led to the seizure of more than 19 kg. of methamphetamine, 20 lbs. marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, among other illegal drugs, more than $6,000, gold coins and bars, silver coins and bars, and four guns.
To qualify for the cash rewards, anyone with information about the shelters can provide anonymous tips in one of the following ways:
- Call the Crime Stoppers hotline: 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)
- Submit a tip online at https://www.p3tips.com/650
- Submit a tip on Facebook by clicking the Submit a Tip link under the About section.
All tips are anonymous regardless of how they are submitted.
Governor Abbott has taken significant action to secure the border in the wake of federal government inaction. These actions include:
- Providing $4 billion in funding for Texas border security efforts
- The launch of Operation Lone Star and the deployment of thousands of National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety soldiers
- Taking aggressive action to secure the border, including busing thousands of immigrants to Washington, DC
- Arresting and imprisoning criminals who trespass or commit other state crimes along the southern border
- Allocation of resources involving the purchase of 1,700 unused steel panels to build the border wall in Texas
- Signing a law to make it easier to prosecute people smugglers who bring people into Texas
- Signing 15 bills to crack down on human trafficking in Texas
- Signing a law that increases the penalties for the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl
- Issuing a disaster declaration for the border crisis
- Issuing an executive order prohibiting non-governmental entities from transporting illegal immigrants
- Signing of Memorandums of Understanding between the State of Texas and the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to increase border security measures that will prevent illegal immigration from Mexico to Texas
- Activating the Joint Border Security Operations Center (JBSOC) and directing the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Military Department, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management to coordinate Texas’ response to secure the border
- Issuance of an executive order authorizing the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to turn away illegal immigrants at the border at ports of entry
- Establishing DPS strike teams and establishing new vehicle checkpoints targeting semi trucks and other commercial vehicles.
Read more about additional actions taken by the Governor to secure the border.
