John Leguizamo condemned former Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman star Dean Cain for volunteering to join the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) department.
“What kind of loser volunteers to be an ICE officer?” the Encanto actor, 65, asked via Instagram on Friday, August 9. “What a moron! Dean Cain, your pronouns are has/been.”
Leguizamo captioned the post: “#DeanCain volunteered to be an ICE agent! I got one word for you: LOSER!”
Frank Grillo — who starred in the 2025 Superman movie — seemingly agreed with Leguizamo, but disagreed slightly with his friend’s description of Cain as a “hasbeen.”
“‘Never was.’ hahahahha,” Grillo, 60, replied.
Academy Award nominee Tatum O’Neal, Empire cocreator Lee Daniels and Purple Rain actress Apollonia Kotero also showed their support for Leguizamo’s stance.
Cain, 59, announced earlier this week via social media that he planned to seek employment with the immigration agency, which has carried out deportation raids throughout the country since Donald Trump took office as president in January.
“For those who don’t know, I am a sworn law enforcement officer, as well as being a filmmaker. I felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans,” Cain explained via Instagram . “Not just talk about it — so I joined up. Here’s your opportunity to join ICE.”
The Hit the Floor actor added, “If you want to help save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets. I like that, I voted for that. They need your help to protect our homeland and our families.”
Dean Cain in March 2022. Paras Griffin/Getty Images
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday, August 7, that Cain would be sworn in as an “honorary ICE Officer” later this month.
Several of Cain’s Hollywood contemporaries took issue with Cain’s alignment with ICE, with former Glee star Kevin McHale branding him a “f***ing pathetic loser” via X on Thursday, August 7.
“Look, I know the entertainment business is in shambles, but imagine being so out of work and desperate for attention (I would know) that you join ICE?” McHale replied to Cain.
Comedian Margaret Cho questioned why Cain would want to take part in ICE immigration raids given his Japanese-American heritage. (Cain has previously said that members of his family were interred at the Minidoka War Relocation Center in central Idaho during World War II.)
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“You’re Japanese. You’re not even white,” Cho said via Instagram. “You’re not 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] is never gonna make that happen.”
While Cain is primarily known for his acting roles in Lois & Clark and Supergirl, he does have a background in law enforcement. Cain was sworn in as a deputy officer for the St. Anthony Police Department in Idaho in June 2018, and later joined the Frederick County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy in May 2022.
Cain told Fox News on Tuesday, August 5, that he did not plan to wear a mask while taking part in ICE duties, despite advice from his parents to do so.
“I’ve just outed myself completely right now,” he said. “And as much as my parents want me to wear a mask because they fear for it, no chance in hell.”
