REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS – The captain of a high school cheerleading team has been disciplined after she sent out a tweet about undocumented immigrants.

She says it was a political statement, not a racial one. Fox 25spoke with the teen who says she was taking a page from Donald Trump.

Caley Godino is a senior at Revere High School and she says part of their homework is to watch the presidential debates, and her tweet was simply about a hot-button issue in the headlines.

"When only 10 percent of Revere votes for mayor, [it's] 'cause the other 90 percent isn't legal," Godino commented in the tweet.

She says it was a response to a tweet from her teacher about the low voter turnout in November's mayoral race. Godino says she meant her tweet as a political comment, not a racial one.

But after other students complained, the school stepped in. Revere Superintendent Dianne Kelly says the district believes in freedom of speech, but cannot support what she calls "insensitive language."

"If you're going to stand up and say something that other people will find offensive, then you need to be prepared to deal with the ramifications," Kelly said.

Godino's mother says her daughter, who is the high school's head cheerleader, is now banned from cheering for the rest of the season, and she doesn't think the punishment fits the crime.

Kelley said the school did not discipline Godino because of the tweet alone, but because of student privacy, she couldn't comment on specifics.

"I would just say that, not everything you read is a full story of what's happening," Kelly said.

Caley's mother told Fox 25 that the school decided to discipline her daughter only because of the intense backlash.

And because of this controversy, the school is now creating a group of teachers and students to come up with a curriculum about diversity and acceptance.

High school cheerleader banned from team after tweeting about immigrants | Fox News Latino