By Nate Delesline III

Published: September 23, 2008

Five people were arrested today in a countywide sweep for illegal immigrants, officials said this afternoon.

About 35 town, county, state and federal officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement met around 3:30 a.m. at the Culpeper Police Department, where they organized into several teams to conduct the sweeps.

Following a briefing, the teams gathered for final last-minute preparations on Cameron Street before beginning the sweep around 5 a.m. Some of the teams got into unmarked SUVs, while others drove unmarked sedans, accompanied by local officers in marked patrol cars. Culpeper Police Chief Scott Barlow said 19 people were targets in the joint operation.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close, whose office also assisted with the raids, said that although five arrests seems small, there will still be a tangible impact on the local community.

“Given the nature of who we were going after, it was pretty good,â€