Harry Reid has threatened to filibuster Bill Frist’s immigration bill, that was unveiled last week. Frist’s bill sidesteps temporary work permits, it would further tighten the borders and punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would “use every procedural means at my disposal” to prevent Frist from bypassing the Judiciary Committee. Frist, R-Tenn., has made clear the Senate will take up his proposal next week if the 18-member committee fails to complete a broader bill.

“If Leader Frist brings a bill to the floor that does not have the approval of the Judiciary Committee, it will not get out of the Senate,” Reid told reporters at the San Ysidro border crossing, a few steps from Tijuana, Mexico.

Bob Stevenson, a spokesman for Frist, did not immediately respond to a call Wednesday evening.

Reid said the overhaul must include heightened border enforcement, a “guest worker” program and a “path to citizenship” for the estimated 11 million people in the United States illegally. He called legislation by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R- Ariz., a “good place to start.”

Senator Kennedy released a statement on Frist’s immigration bill last week, it is available here. Word has it that Hillary Clinton also “plans to block Frist’s immigration bill.”

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