COLUMBUS, Ohio – Illegal immigrants in the Buckeye State will soon be put behind bars and fined hundreds of dollars if the Statehouse passes a new law aimed at punishing people in the country illegally – which comes as questions continue to swirl to surface the Haitian migrant surge in Springfield.

The America First Act is scheduled to be introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives next week.

The Post exclusively read an early draft of the bill, which aims to bolster federal immigration law at the state level. Republican state representatives Gary Click and Nick Santucci are finalizing the language.

New penalties under this law include a $500 fine and one year in prison – or double that for repeat offenders.

“The America First Act only addresses immigration that has already been deemed unlawful at the federal level,” Click said in an email to his Republican colleagues in the Statehouse. “This bill is not and cannot be a panacea for all immigration-related problems. State-level policies cannot be comprehensive, but we can complement each other.”

Click said the bill was intended to “send a message” to legal immigrants who “value America enough to knock and come in the front door.”

“Ohio can do its part to support legal immigration by prioritizing those who obey the law and discouraging those whose very first act in America is to break the law,” he told The Post.

While states do not have the authority to carry out deportations, immigration violators must leave Ohio within 72 hours of completing their sentence.

“The America First Act is a necessary measure to keep Ohio communities safe. Biden and Harris’ immigration policies have put Ohioans at risk by allowing countless unvetted illegal immigrants across our borders,” Santucci told The Post. “This bill will ensure that, at least in Ohio, only those who respect our country enough to enter legally can stay.”

The House Democratic spokesman said they were unaware of the upcoming legislation.

The proposal comes just weeks after Springfield, Ohio, became a microcosm of American immigration frustration as Haitian migrants overwhelmed the city’s social services. The city made national headlines with allegations that some migrants had eaten residents’ pets.

But even in Ohio’s Republican-controlled statehouse, passing this law could be a challenge.

And that’s thanks to a politician’s oldest enemy: time.

Lawmakers “won’t come back until after the election and their General Session will end at the end of this year,” a Republican political analyst in Columbus told The Post.

Asked whether the law would even be enforceable, he replied: “I’m not sure it would be, but that has never stopped the Ohio General Assembly before.”

Immigration is an important issue in Ohio, and an aggressive approach could well pay off for the Republican majority in the House.

Donald Trump has a comfortable lead over Kamala Harris in the state: 51.5% to 43.3%, according to the RealClearPolitics average. Two new polls also show Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown trailing his Republican challenger Bernie Moreno by two points.