Margaret Cho to John Leguizamo, celebrities who reacted to Dean Cain's ICE agent announcement 

Former Superman star Dean Cain revealed he was preparing to join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). The announcement followed a recruitment video Cain had recently shared, urging the public to consider joining the agency. ICE has been central to the Trump administration’s stepped-up deportation measures in recent years.

Dean Cain, who portrayed Superman in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman between 1993 and 1997, later appeared in a range of TV shows and films and also directed projects. According to the BBC, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed Cain would be sworn in as an “honorary ICE Officer” next month. DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said,

"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 to arrest the worst of the worst."

Dean Cain faces celebrity backlash over move to join ICE

Celebrities weighed in after Dean Cain’s announcement that he would be joining U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Instagram, actor and activist John Leguizamo sharply criticized the move.

"What kind of loser volunteers to be an ICE officer? What a moron. Dean Cain, your pronouns are has/been," he shared.

John Leguizamo, a vocal advocate for diversity in entertainment, has long pushed for greater representation. At the 2024 Emmys, he highlighted the issue while celebrating a more diverse slate of nominees:

"At 15, I didn’t know the word representation… but I saw a lot of brown face," he told the audience, calling out instances of non-Latin actors portraying Latin characters. His examples included Marlon Brando playing Mexican, Al Pacino as a Cuban gangster, and Natalie Wood as a “Puerto Rican beauty” named Maria in West Side Story.

He added:

"Everybody played us, except us. I didn’t see a lot of people on TV that looked like me," Leguizamo added.

Reflecting on his career, he admitted,

"For years I didn’t complain about the limited roles my people were offered… Turns out not complaining doesn’t change anything. So for the past few years, I’ve been complaining.

According to Buzzfeed, several celebrities reacted to John Leguizamo’s video criticizing Dean Cain. Frank Grillo, who portrays Rick Flag Sr. in the latest Superman film, replied to Leguizamo’s “has been” remark by saying Cain “never was.” Actress Tatum O’Neal, the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award in 1974, responded with six clapping emojis. Director Lee Daniels reacted with a laugh to Leguizamo’s comments.

Comedian Margaret Cho questions Dean Cain's move

Comedian Margaret Cho criticized Dean Cain’s decision to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a pointed Instagram video.

"Why would you join ICE and encourage people to join ICE when your ancestors were interned in World War II?" she asked.

"You're Japanese. You're not even white... I know you, and you are not white. You have never been white. And no matter how many of these white activities that you participate in, it's never gonna make that happen... No matter how racist you are, no matter how wrong you act... Always wrong, never white." she added.

Cho’s remarks referenced Cain’s Japanese heritage on his father’s side. Born Dean Tanaka, the actor has previously spoken about his background in an interview with Variety.

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"Tanaka is my given name, and it’s funny that people are like, ‘Well, you tried to hide that.’ It’s tattooed on my ankle, my family was interned in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. That was a horrible injustice, but I don’t think that I deserve any sort of reparations." he shared.

What did you make of the announcement? Sound off in the comments section below.

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