Former TUV candidate Ann Cooper took to micro-blogging site Twitter to support the Revenue and Customs staff at the centre of a police investigation into allegations of racial abuse.
Ms Cooper, a driving instructor from east Belfast, fought for Iris Robinson's old Castlereagh Council seat under the TUV banner in last May's by-election.
Reacting to the news that seven HMRC staff members had been officially dismissed in Belfast for "racially motivated gross misconduct", she tweeted:
"Well done lads. Sorry you got caught. You deserve a medal. We need more like you."
The seven staff, who are all men, are accused of tampering with computer records, which meant a number of people from ethnic minority backgrounds living across the UK were paid less money than they were entitled to.
It is understood that two other staff members quit when an internal inquiry was launched earlier this year.
When challenged by fellow Twitterers about her views, Ms Cooper added:
"See I dont see them as racists. I think they R very fed up working citizens who see too much of this going on and think its unfair."
She later tweeted: "I am not interested in what benefit it was. I can understand why they did it."
Castlereagh East Alliance Councillor Judith Cochrane has condemned the comments.
"I am disgusted at Ann Cooper's comments. They are nasty and are totally incorrect. We need to challenge urban myths about immigration and concentrate on the facts and challenge prejudice", Cllr Judith Cochrane said.
"We are trying to market and promote Northern Ireland across the world and to have comments like these being made is deeply damaging.
In a disclaimer, Ms Cooper explains that any views posted on her Twitter page "are in no way connected to the TUV."
Leader Jim Allister, who was contacted by UTV, said Ms Cooper is no longer a party member.
He declined to comment about her remarks.
Patrick Yu, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, said Ms Cooper's remarks were unacceptable.
He added: "She is not even looking at the issues, but we still have that kind of person in our society".
"They are not living in a modern society and they don't see that society is changing, or see the type of diversity - culturally, linguistically and socially."
He added: "And I think you can put off foreign investment".
"If they don't want the so-called 'foreigners' coming, do they want the foreign investment here?"
He said claims by Ms Cooper that migrants took jobs from indigenous workers had been debunked by academic studies of the issue in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Mr Yu called for an inquiry into the Revenue and Customs scandal.
Dave Hartnett, permanent secretary for tax at HM Revenue and Customs, said the department operates a zero-tolerance policy on racial discrimination.
Earlier this year, TUV East Belfast Westminster candidate David Vance faced having his blog, A Tangled Web, closed by his host following complaints regarding hate speech.
© UTV News