“I’m actually … a sworn deputy sheriff and a reserve police officer – I wasn’t part of ICE, but once I put that (the recruitment video) out there and you put a little blurb on your show, it went crazy,” Cain told Fox News host Jesse Watters.

“So now I’ve spoken with some officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP.”

Asked what motivated the move, Cain, who is a well known conservative in Hollywood, said: “This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing. I truly believe this is the right thing.”

Cain described the US’s immigration system as “broken,” saying, “Congress needs to fix it, but in the interim, President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this. This is what people voted for. It’s what I voted for and he’s going to see it through, and I’ll do my part and help make sure it happens.”

Cain’s public pledge to join ICE comes amid a significant acceleration in immigration enforcement, as the Trump administration is apprehending hundreds of immigrants every day across the country.

In states that voted for Trump, ICE agents are most likely to arrest immigrants directly from prisons and jails.

By contract, in Democratic-leaning states ICE is frequently arresting immigrants from worksites, streets and mass roundups that have sparked protests and intense backlash in cities such as Los Angeles. Most of those arrested don’t have a criminal record.

Overall, ICE is making more arrests in red states than blue states – both in the community and, especially, in prisons and jails – the ICE data shows.