Texas governor increases cash reward to 5k for reporting stash houses

EL PASO, Texas -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced he is increasing the cash reward up to $5,000 for Texans who report stash houses.

On Wednesday, the governor made the announcement, along with his Public Safety Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Gov. Abbott said that Texans are encouraged to report stash houses to help identify human trafficking, drug and human smuggling.

Border Patrol agents of the El Paso Sector have discovered nearly 215 stash houses since October, nearly 2,300 migrants inside.

Carlos Rivera, the public affairs spokesperson for the El Paso Sector, told ABC-7 transnational organizations use different types of stash houses including motel rooms, rental homes, trailers and sheds.

Rivera said the conditions inside are almost identical.

He said stash houses are usually boarded up, full of trash inside and have heavy activity throughout the day.

"The most concerning trend that we are seeing are now is just the inhumane conditions of a lot of these stash houses," he said.

According to Rivera, stash houses typically don't have electricity, running water or food for migrants.

Since October, migrants from 69 countries have been found inside stash houses.

However, other items are also stored inside.

"A lot of these stash houses are used for narcotics, either they hide money to take back South and we have also find weapons in these stash houses," Rivera said.

He said it is important for the public to alert law enforcement of suspicious activities.

"It might be a house that is already being looked at by authorities and it is just one more piece to the puzzle that we need to be able to indicate yes that is a stash house, that’s human smuggling activity. Then we go and approach the house."

To be eligible for cash awards, people with information can provide their anonymous tips here:

Call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)