Dean Cain, best known for portraying the Man of Steel in the 1990s TV hit Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, is stepping into a far different role — one that has already ignited heated political debate.
The 58-year-old actor revealed this week that he will be sworn in as an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), lending his name — and soon, his badge — to President Donald Trump’s intensifying immigration enforcement campaign.
Cain made the announcement during a Wednesday interview on Fox News, telling host Jesse Watters that his decision came after he shared an ICE recruitment video on social media the day before. The post, he said, “went crazy,” drawing attention from ICE officials and leading to discussions that culminated in his commitment to join the agency.
“I’m actually… a sworn deputy sheriff and a reserve police officer – I wasn’t part of ICE, but once I put that (the recruitment video) out there and you put a little blurb on your show, it went crazy,” Cain explained. “So now I’ve spoken with some officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP.”
For Cain, a longtime conservative voice in Hollywood, the move is about patriotism and principle. “This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing,” he said. “I truly believe this is the right thing.”
He described the nation’s immigration system as “broken” and said Congress must act, but praised Trump for delivering on a campaign promise to strengthen enforcement. “President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this. 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.”
Cain’s decision comes at a time when ICE is ramping up operations nationwide. Under Trump, the agency has been making hundreds of arrests daily, with tactics — and targets — that vary sharply depending on political geography.
A CNN analysis of ICE data shows that in Republican-led states, most arrests occur inside prisons and jails, targeting individuals already in custody. In Democratic-leaning states, however, ICE is more likely to conduct workplace raids, street arrests, and mass roundups — often detaining people without criminal records. These high-profile sweeps have sparked protests in cities such as Los Angeles, where immigrant rights groups accuse the administration of tearing families apart.
Despite the controversy, Cain’s public embrace of ICE aligns him closely with Trump’s hardline stance on immigration — a position that has deeply polarized the country. To supporters, it’s another example of a celebrity “stepping up” to defend law and order. To critics, it’s a Hollywood endorsement of a policy they view as cruel and unjust.
For the man who once embodied Superman — an alien immigrant welcomed by Earth — the irony is not lost on his detractors. But Cain insists the comparison doesn’t apply. This time, he says, the role isn’t about saving a fictional city — it’s about enforcing the laws of a real one.