A former Superman actor has faced backlash from fans following his announcement of joining ICE to “save America.”
Dean Cain, known for his portrayal of the iconic superhero in the TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” which ran on ABC from 1993 to 1997, recently made headlines for a different reason.
At the age of 59, Cain revealed his decision to become part of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), amidst controversial immigration raids led by the federal agency.
The Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on immigration have been met with widespread criticism, as ICE agents work under pressure from the White House to increase deportation figures, aligning with Trump’s campaign pledge to tackle illegal immigration.
As part of Trump’s deportation initiative, ICE received a substantial funding boost of $75 billion.
In a recent Instagram post, Cain urged others to join him in signing up for ICE, highlighting the benefits of serving the agency.
“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” he stated in the viral video.
Cain asserted that “hundreds of thousands of criminals” had been apprehended since Donald Trump resumed office this year.
Additionally, he mentioned potential benefits for those joining ICE, including a $50,000 salary and student loan repayment options.
“If you want to help save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets,” he emphasized, adding, “I voted for that.”
ICE has plans to increase its personnel by 10,000, effectively doubling its current workforce.
Cain’s announcement has sparked outrage among many. One upset Instagram user commented, “Shame on you Dean – that’s the most un-Superman thing you could possibly advocate.”
Another disheartened social media user pronounced him the “Worst Superman ever.”
“The attempts on staying relevant are pretty pathetic,” a third remarked.
Cain recently made headlines concerning James Gunn’s new Superman film, expressing disagreement with one of the director’s statements about the character.
Gunn referred to Superman as an immigrant in the US, given his extraterrestrial origin. Even casual comic book fans recall the narrative of Clark Kent, also known as Kal-El.
Superman is an alien who arrives on Earth after his home planet, Krypton, is destroyed. He emerges as an American hero, dedicated to protecting those in need.
Cain expressed displeasure with Gunn’s remarks, telling TMZ: “How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?
“For Superman, it was ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ Well, they dropped that… They came up with ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.'”
“Changing beloved characters I don’t think is a great idea. If you want to create a new character, go ahead and do that,” he added.
Cain continued: “Superman has always stood for ‘truth, justice, and the American way,’ and the ‘American way’ is immigrant friendly, tremendously immigrant friendly.
“But there are rules. You can’t come in saying, ‘I want to get rid of all the rules in America because I want it to be more like Somalia.’ Well, that doesn’t work, because you had to leave Somalia to come here…
“There have to be limits, because we can’t have everybody in the United States. We can’t have everybody, society will fail. So there have to be limits.”