Fresno's City Hall to be site of rally

Environmentalist's comments about farmworkers incite.

A rally at Fresno City Hall on Monday will highlight central San Joaquin Valley farms' need for water and discuss perceptions about Hispanic farmworkers.

The 10:30 a.m. rally will include elected officials such as Assembly Member Juan Arambula, D-Fresno, and Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson. Manuel Cunha, president of the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League, farmers and farmworkers also will be present.

The rally is in response to recent comments from Lloyd Carter, a board member of the California Water Impact Network, said Mario Santoyo of the California Latino Water Coalition, the rally's organizer.

After a recent debate between San Joaquin Valley farm water officials and environmentalists at California State University, Fresno, Carter spoke to KMPH (Channel 26) about farmworkers who would lose their jobs if west side Valley farms don't receive delta water this year.

"They're not even American citizens for starters, right?" he said.

"Do you think that we should employ illegal aliens? What parent raises their child to become a farmworker? These kids, they're the least educated people in America or in the southwest corner of this Valley. They turn to lives of crime. They go on welfare. They get into drug trafficking and they join gangs."