Dean Cain, the actor who played Superman in a popular 1990s TV series, said on Wednesday that he would sign up to become an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Mr. Cain’s announcement on Wednesday came as the Trump administration pushes to hire thousands of new personnel to support its nationwide deportation campaign.
Mr. Cain, 59, posted a video to his Instagram account on Wednesday urging people to join ICE, listing incentives that the administration has said it will offer new officers. The “Superman” theme song plays in the background.
Later in the day, Mr. Cain said on the Fox News program “Jesse Watters Primetime” that he, too, was joining the agency: “I will be sworn in as an ICE agent A.S.A.P.” he said, noting that he was a sworn deputy sheriff and a reserve police officer.
As part of its recruitment drive, the Department of Homeland Security has eliminated the age limit for ICE officers. Last month, the department announced incentives for new recruits, including a signing bonus of up to $50,000, options for “student loan repayment and forgiveness” and retirement benefits.
Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, told Fox News this week that she planned to hire 10,000 additional ICE personnel and that the department had already received 80,000 applications. Mr. Cain said in his Fox News interview that ICE would now have “80,000 and one recruits.”
When asked if he would be “hopping out of ICE vans and apprehending guys,” Mr. Cain said that he would do anything that Todd Lyons, the director of ICE, asked him to do, but added that he doubted that he would “be in that position.”
Representatives of ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Cain, who has more than 200 acting credits but is probably best known for his role on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” is an outspoken supporter of the president. “I love President Trump. I’ve been friends with him forever,” Mr. Cain told Variety last month.
As the Trump administration has pursued the president’s objective of deporting millions of people, immigration arrests increased nationwide in the first half of 2025 and more than doubled in 38 states, according to New York Times reporting. Most of the arrests have occurred in states with large immigrant populations, including Florida and Texas.
To achieve the administration’s deportation goals, ICE has been using more aggressive tactics in recent few months, including detaining people at immigration court hearings.
ICE agents often wear masks when they carry out immigration raids. Mr. Cain, however, said he would not wear a mask.
“I’ve just outed myself completely right now,” he told Mr. Watters. “And as much as my parents want me to wear a mask because they fear for it, no chance in hell.”
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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