Illegal alien snuck back into US after 2010 deportation and killed six in 2023 head-on collision enters guilty plea

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, a 45-year-old Guatemalan national, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after deportation, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced.

The plea follows a tragic November 2023 car accident near Elk City, Oklahoma, where Paxtor-Oxlaj’s vehicle crashed, killing six passengers, including five children, and critically injuring a seventh.

On September 17, 2024, a federal grand jury charged Paxtor-Oxlaj with illegal reentry. Court documents reveal he was ordered removed by an immigration judge on June 29, 2010, and deported to Guatemala on July 9, 2010.

Investigations by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Paxtor-Oxlaj reentered the U.S. without permission.

“Six lives, including five children, were lost, and another person was gravely injured because this defendant illegally returned to the United States,” Troester said. “This heartbreaking tragedy underscores the severe consequences of violating immigration laws. We commend the diligent work of federal and state law enforcement in pursuing justice.”

Paxtor-Oxlaj entered his guilty plea on March 21, 2025, admitting he knowingly resided in the U.S. without authorization from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security. He faces sentencing in federal court in approximately 60 to 90 days.

In a related state case, Paxtor-Oxlaj was convicted in Beckham County District Court 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 was sentenced to four years in state prison.

The federal case was investigated by HSI, ICE, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Elizabeth Joynes.