By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 08 Aug 2025 • 20:52
• 3 minutes read
Former Superman actor joins ICE to detain and deport inmigrants from the US | Credit: Dean Cain/Instagram
Ex-Superman actor Dean Cain has announced plans to become a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent so he can help detain and deport people labelled as illegal immigrants or US residents deemed dangerous to the country.
“For those who don’t know, I am a sworn law enforcement officer, as well as being a filmmaker, and 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,” Cain, 59, said.
“If you want to help save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets. I like that. I voted for that,” Cain said. “They need your help. We need your help to protect our homeland and our families.”
‘Worst of the worst’
However, Cain might not have the correct information, or he might have chosen to ignore the fact that not all ICE detainees are the “worst of the worst”, as he said.
Several reports show that between 65 per cent and 71 per cent of all immigrants detained by ICE have no criminal record. On June 20th, the Cato Institute said sources close to ICE have shared information with them that supports the statement.
“New nonpublic data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicate that the government is primarily detaining individuals with no criminal convictions of any kind,” the institute stated. “Also, among those with criminal convictions, they are overwhelmingly not the violent offences that ICE continuously uses to justify its deportation agenda.”
“Using public data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—which does not include details of criminal convictions—we can see the trend in ICE book-ins from the start of the Trump administration,” Cato said, providing the link to prove with ICE statistics that much less than half of people arrested are actually criminals.
71% have no criminal record
The Trac Immigration website also provides official statistics and proof that”40,461 out of 56,945—or 71.1% held in ICE detention have no criminal conviction according to data current as of July 27, 2025. Many of those convicted committed only minor offences, including traffic violations.”
President Donald Trump has vowed to ramp up the pace of deportations from the US to one million per year. Part of that effort has included increased immigration raids since he became president.
On July 29th, ICE announced it was offering recruitment bonuses of up to $50,000 (£37,700) and student loan help to Americans interested in helping with the Trump administration’s deportation drive.
“People have to step up. I’m stepping up. Hopefully, a whole bunch of other former officers, former ICE agents will step up, and we’ll meet those recruitment goals immediately, and we’ll help protect this country,” Cain added.
‘A broken immigration system’
“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. 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,” he stated.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Cain would be sworn in as an “honorary ICE Officer” in the coming month.
“Superman is encouraging Americans to become real-life superheroes by answering their country’s call to join the brave men and women of ICE to help protect our communities and arrest the worst of the worst,” said DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
The federal law enforcement agency has aggressively ramped up immigration raids since Trump’s return to the White House and was recently awarded $75bn in extra funding as part of the president’s “big beautiful bill”, which includes billions for hiring an additional 10,000 ICE agents by 2029.
Cain portrayed DC Comics legend Clark Kent and his superhero alias, Superman, on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” from 1993-1997. The ABC dramedy, which also starred Teri Hatcher and Lane Smith, earned five Primetime Emmy nominations during its four-year run.
