Dean Cain, the actor best known for portraying Superman on the TV series “Lois & Clark,” announced on Wednesday that he will be joining Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The decision runs in direct contrast to the ethics of the character he portrayed: an immigrant who defended other immigrants against abuse and oppression.
“I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP,” Cain told Fox News after sharing a recruitment video for the agency.
Cain described himself as a “patriot” for backing President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda and praised him for delivering on his campaign promises to attack immigrants.
ICE has been at the forefront of Trump’s attack, intimidating and harassing immigrants and their families. The agency has abducted people, deceived them in pursuit of immigrants, and harassed U.S. citizens—including veterans—to carry out Trump’s agenda.
ICE’s heavy-handed tactics and brutal procedures have even led to criminals adopting ICE garb as a pretext to committing crimes. Racists have also been donning ICE uniforms to get away with harassing Latino people.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both children of Jewish immigrants, and debuted in 1938 as “the champion of the oppressed” who “had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need.”
Superman is the sole survivor of the destroyed planet of Krypton and is raised by his adoptive parents in Smallville, Kansas. Following the original comic, the character has consistently protected others. In a 2017 edition of “Action Comics,” Superman protected Latino immigrants targeted by a white supremacist, shielding them with his body from an onslaught of bullets.
Cain has not done much high-profile work since “Lois & Clark” ended its 4-season run on ABC in 1997. He followed up the show with a slew of basic cable and direct-to-video movies, and has appeared in several right-wing propaganda films like “ObamaGate: The Movie,” and “God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust.”
In recent years, Cain has become a fixture on Fox News, where he has used his Superman fame to promote far-right politics and COVID-19 conspiracies.
Cain was most recently in the news for badmouthing the latest “Superman” movie released in July. After director James Gunn accurately noted that Superman is an immigrant, Cain was among the chorus of right-wing voices panning the statement. He derided the film as “woke” and said that Gunn’s comments would “hurt” the film at the box office.
So far, “Superman” has earned more than $550 million worldwide and is the third-highest grossing film of 2025 in the United States.