“This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing,” the actor said to justify his decision.
Actor Dean Cain, well known for his role as Superman in the ’90s TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” was met with backlash online this week after announcing he joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it. So I joined up, and here’s your opportunity to join ICE,” Cain said in a recruitment video posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter. “You can earn lots of great benefits and pay.”
JOIN ICE!!
We need your help to protect pic.twitter.com/cXcUaDcDhY
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) August 5, 2025
The next day, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was removing the upper age limit for ICE recruits in an effort to boost deportations.
The actor appeared Wednesday on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” telling the host he spoke with ICE officials and will be sworn in as an agent “ASAP.”
“We have a broken immigration system. Congress needs to fix it, but in the interim, President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this,” Cain told Watters. “This is what people voted for. It’s what I voted for, and he’s going to see it through, and I’ll do my part and help make sure it happens.”
ICE has been embroiled in controversy since Donald Trump returned to the White House, as many nonviolent immigrants , green card holders, visa holders , and even U.S. citizens have been placed in detention centers with reported deplorable conditions.
“This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing. I truly believe this is the right thing,” Cain told Watters.
Cain is among a group of Hollywood actors, including Jon Voight and Mel Gibson, who have aligned themselves with Trump’s MAGA movement. He slammed James Gunn’s recently released Superman film as “woke”; the movie has received high praise from critics and filmgoers on Rotten Tomatoes.
The actor, born Dean George Tanaka, recently spoke about his Japanese heritage on his father’s side in an interview with Variety , saying members of his family were placed in internment camps.
“My family was interred in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho,” Cain said. “That was a horrible injustice, but I don’t think that I deserve any sort of reparations.”
Many social media users attacked Cain’s decision to join ICE, pointing out that this is not what the hero he played, who stood for “truth, justice and the American way,” would have done.
