Operation "Return to Sender" in Santa Cruz, Watsonville

The majority of the violators arrested in Operation Return to Sender were from Mexico, but officers also arrested people from India, El Salvador and Guatemala, said spokeswoman Lori Haley.

Forty-four violators have already been deported, and one was turned over to local authorities because of an outside arrest warrant for driving without a license and possession of a controlled substance. The rest remain in custody, Haley said.

The rapid deportation troubles local immigration attorneys because it deprives violators of their access to counsel and courts, said Stacy Tolchin, a San Francisco immigration attorney who is representing 20-year-old and 13-year-old U.S. citizens whose parents were taken away in the sweep.