Former Superman actor Dean Cain has sparked backlash after encouraging Americans to join US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a new recruitment video.
Cain, who rose to fame in the 1990s as Clark Kent in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, said he wanted “to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it,” adding, “I am a sworn law enforcement officer, as well as being a filmmaker, so I joined up.”
In the video, set to the iconic Superman theme, Cain promotes ICE’s benefits including a $50,000 signing bonus, student loan repayment, and enhanced retirement. He claimed the agency has arrested “hundreds of thousands of criminals, including terrorists, rapists, murderers, paedophiles, MS 13 gang members, drug traffickers—you name it.”
Cain, born Dean George Tanaka and of Japanese descent, told viewers that ICE was “helping save America and removing the worst of the worst from America’s streets.” He encouraged people to join if it “tickled your fancy,” captioning the post, “Join ICE! We need you to help protect US.”
Online reaction was swift. One user wrote, “Until I saw this, I was such a fan,” while another commented, “Shame on you Dean, that’s the most un-Superman thing you could possibly advocate.” A third added, “This is incredibly ironic coming from a direct descendant of Japanese immigrants.”
Appearing on Fox News show Jesse Watters Primetime, Cain defended the video, saying, “America was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not,” and added, “This is what people voted for. It’s what I voted for.”
ICE has faced increasing criticism over mass raids, with recent reports confirming arrests of undocumented immigrants, legal residents, and even US citizens. The agency received an additional 75 billion dollars under Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Cain’s campaign follows a similar controversy involving South Park, after the US Department of Homeland Security used an image from the show in an ICE recruitment post.
The long-running animated series show’s official account reshared the post on X, formerly Twitter, along with the caption, “Wait, so we ARE relevant?” and the hashtag #eatabagofd***s.
The episode drew 5.9 million viewers, making it the show's highest-rated premiere since 2022.
