Dean Cain, the actor known for his role as television’s Superman throughout the 1990s, announced Wednesday that he intends to enlist as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, just hours after the agency announced it would waive age limits for new applicants.
ICE Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CBS News that Cain will be sworn in as an honorary ICE officer in the coming month.
On Tuesday, Cain posted on social media to advertise career opportunities at ICE, saying he “felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it.” A day later, Cain appeared as a guest on “Jesse Waters Primetime,” where he told the Fox News host that he spoke to ICE officials after Tuesday’s video gained traction online and that he “will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP.”
The 59-year-old actor’s statements came a month after the Trump administration bumped up incentives for new ICE officers, as the agency works to fill the 10,000 vacancies created by a massive federal funding surge. On Wednesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that ICE was waiving age limits in its search for new applicants.
The move isn’t the first foray into law enforcement for Cain, who played Superman and Clark Kent in the 1990s TV show “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” In 2019, Cain enlisted as a reserve officer in the Pocatello Police Department, a precinct in Brannock County, Idaho. The Michigan native has also joined up as a sworn sheriff’s deputy in Frederick County, Virginia.
Cain appeared on the television series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” from 1993 to 1997. He later returned to the DC universe in guest roles on later Superman series, including “Smallville” and “Supergirl.” His last television appearance was in Showtime’s “The Curse,” alongside Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder.
The actor last month criticized James Gunn’s rebooted “Superman” film, which stars David Corenswet as the man of steel. Cain dubbed the film “woke” after Gunn referred to the character as “an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country.”
“I think that was a mistake by James Gunn to say it’s an immigrant thing,” Cain told TMZ in July. “I’m rooting for it to be a success, but I don’t like that last political comment.”
Wednesday’s announcement wasn’t Cain’s first collaboration with U.S. immigration officials. In a 1997 episode of “Lois & Clark,” titled “Meet John Doe,” Cain’s Superman is confronted by what was then known as an immigration and naturalization officer, who corners the Kryptonian and demands that he shows his green card – but he cannot.
Nicole Sganga and
contributed to this report.
Adam Hudacek is an intern at cbsnews.com. Adam has previously written for outlets including the Washington Business Journal and Capital News Service. He will graduate from the University of Maryland in Dec. 2025.
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