McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Texas is offering up to $5,000 for information on stash houses where migrants are held or transnational criminal activity occurs, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday.

This is an increase in reward money that has previously been offered by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Public Safety Office, the governor said.

“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,” Abbott said in a statement.

In April, however, the Biden administration launched a first-of-its-kind effort to disrupt and dismantle human smuggling networks.

Led by the Department of Homeland Security, the interagency effort has committed over $50 million and surged over 1,300 personnel in Latin America and along the Southwest border to seize the financial assets of smugglers, raid stash houses that hide migrants and impound buses and tractor-trailers used to smuggle people, according to DHS.

The added inducements in Texas come as Abbott’s Operation Lone Star initiative continues to grow and state funding for border security has exceeded $4 billion.

Concertina wire has been placed throughout the South Texas border with Mexico as part of Operation Lone Star, including this bridge leading from Eagle Pass, Texas, to Piedras Negras, Mexico. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report File Photo)

“DPS and local law enforcement partners are working around the clock to prevent transnational crimes from being committed in communities around the state. These stash houses contain people or drugs that may have otherwise made their way across Texas and the nation because of the dangerous gaps left by 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,” Abbott said.

All tips are anonymous. The following can be dine to receive a cash reward for tips on stash houses:

Abbott says since Operation Lone Star began in March 2021 there have been more than 297,200 migrant apprehensions and more than 19,000 criminal arrests, with16,400 felony charges reported.

Texas has also bused over 7,400 migrants to Washington, D.C., since April, and over 1,500 migrants to New York City since August 5, according to the latest data from the governor’s office.