In a sobering closure to a devastating series of events, Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, a 45-year-old Guatemalan national, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. This sentence was tacked onto a prior state prison sentence for his involvement in a vehicle accident that tragically resulted in the deaths of six passengers, including three children, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.
The fatal crash, which occurred near Elk City, Oklahoma, on November 21, 2023, also left a seventh passenger critically injured. An investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that Paxtor-Oxlaj had been previously removed from the U.S. on July 9, 2010, after an Immigration Judge's order dated June 29, 2010, he then promptly, reentered the country in 2011 without authorization. On March 21, 2025, Paxtor-Oxlaj admitted guilt to the charge of illegal re-entry, acknowledging his presence in the U.S. without consent from appropriate government authorities, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On the state level, Paxtor-Oxlaj faced serious charges in Beckham County District Court, where he was convicted of six counts of first-degree manslaughter and one count of causing an accident with great bodily injury without a valid driver's license. He received a four-year sentence in state prison for these charges. At the federal sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Patrick R. Wyrick underscored the reprehensibility of Paxtor-Oxlaj's actions that preyed on vulnerable individuals by sentencing him to the maximum statutory duration of 24 months in federal prison, this sentence is set to run consecutively with his state sentence, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The case has drawn attention as part of "Operation Take Back America," an initiative that leverages the Department of Justice's full resources to combat illegal immigration and dismantle criminal organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Elizabeth Joynes led the prosecution of Paxtor-Oxlaj's case, which stemmed from collaborative efforts between the HSI, ICE, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The aim of the operation is to protect communities from the impacts of violent crime and illegal activities coordinated by cartels and transnational criminal organizations, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
