Dean Cain defends new role with ICE, says he's being 'pilloried and attacked'
Dean Cain is hitting back at those criticizing his recent decision to join the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" star, in an appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" on Aug. 11, said his decision to join the agency stemmed from wanting to support ICE officers.
"I'm 59 years old and I've joined ICE," Cain said on the show. "Go ahead and denigrate my career. But what I'm doing is I'm standing up for the men and women of ICE. I'm a sworn deputy sheriff. I'm a reserve police officer. I have been for almost a decade now."
Cain went on to defend ICE officers, saying they are being "vilified," "attacked" and "doxed" for "trying to their job" that the "American people hired them for" and the "Congress wrote laws for."
"They're doing it very, very well," Cain said, appreciating ICE agents.
Cain '100% proud' to stand with ICE agents
The actor said the criticism started when he did a recruitment video for ICE, prompting some to think he had "actually joined" the agency. He then spoke with ICE officials and decided to officially join the agency and be sworn in.
"I'm 100% proud to stand with our agents of ICE," Cain said on the show. "I love these people. They're wonderful men and women and husbands and fathers of every ethnicity, every race, every background."
Cain also took a dig at John Oliver, who on a recent show had blasted the former's decision to join the federal immigration enforcement agency, which has come under scrutiny for aggressively deporting tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants in President Donald Trump's second term.
"I'll happily take the jibes of John Oliver," Cain remarked. "I'm being pilloried and attacked for joining up with a law a federal law enforcement agency. (It) is insane. I did it to protect Americans and to protect our men and women of ICE."
Untrained former actor?
When political strategist Tim Miller, the show's other guest, asked Cain if he knows what rights an individual has if he shows up "at the door of someone's home as an ICE agent," Cain responded by saying he's "not an ICE agent yet" and is yet to undergo training.
"So yeah, you’re an untrained former actor," Miller said in response.
"I’m a former actor," Cain said. "I’m a former professional football player, too. So, want to run down your resume? I mean, it’s so stupid."
"Denigrating somebody because they're doing this because of what they used to do or what they do or whether they're an actor or a writer or a newscaster is ridiculous. It's an ad hominem attack," Cain asserted, reminding viewers again of his law enforcement background.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.