It Could Happen Here — Executive Disorder: ICE at Airports, New DHS Secretary, Iran Negotiations

Podcast Date: March 27, 2026
Hosts: Robert Evans, Mia Wong, Sophie Lichterman, Garrison Davis

Episode Overview

This lively and incisive episode covers the tumultuous week of March 18th to March 25th, 2026, focusing on the collapse and dysfunction in the executive branch—particularly at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recent ICE deployments at U.S. airports, the ripple effects of U.S.-Iran hostilities, and new leadership at DHS. The hosts combine dark humor with detailed, blunt analysis to document political, economic, and humanitarian fallout as the Trump administration navigates multiple crises.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tech Annoyances & AI News

Timestamps: 02:37–07:10

• Hosts vent frustrations with modern workplace software, especially intrusive AI features in platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Copilot.
  • "It's insufferable. All these goddamn platforms with their stupid AI features and moving of my settings. I sound like the oldest person in the world..." — Mia Wong (03:16)
• OpenAI shuts down its Sora AI video app amidst a failed $1B Disney deal.
  • Disney pulled its investment due to lack of useful licensing/indemnity for creators.
  • Sora's terms did not allow generated content to be used commercially, frustrating both hobbyists and filmmakers.
  • "You can't actually do anything with your Sora clips." — Robert Evans (06:21)
• Briefs on other news:
  • U.S. Army raises enlistment age to 42.
  • Pentagon to keep National Guard in DC during Trump’s second term.
  • Democrats flipped Trump’s old state House district in Florida.
    • “Vindication of the Mia Blue tsunami theory...” — Unidentified Female Host (07:54)
• FBI investigates ex-Counterterrorism Center head Joe Kent for classified leaks and controversial claims about Israel.
  • Hosts mock conspiracy theories linking Israel to the killing of Charlie Kirk.

2. ICE at Airports During the DHS Shutdown

Timestamps: 09:36–19:23

• DHS has been shuttered for over a month, leaving over 400 TSA agents unpaid and many quitting.
• Trump announces ICE (still funded by a prior bill) will be deployed to airports for TSA duties.
  • Locations include Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, NYC, and others.
  • ICE agents at airports aren’t wearing masks, contradicting earlier claims about anti-doxing measures.
  • Trump: “I’m a big proponent of ICE wearing masks… I would greatly appreciate, however, no masks... Thank you.” — Donald Trump (11:03)
  • “Discovered the paperclip.” — repeated sarcastically as Trump compares his ICE idea to the “discovery” of the paperclip (11:41)
• Trump confirms ICE will make arrests at airports:
  • “They’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory.” — Donald Trump (12:43)
  • Hosts: Most undocumented immigrants overstay visas, not airport entries.
  • ICE's real function at airports: standing behind TSA, minimal direct action.
  • Union leaders clarify ICE does not reduce lines or conduct TSA work.
  • “They are literally standing behind the officers while they’re checking documents... or walking the queue line.” — Heidrick Thomas, TSA Union NY/NJ (15:17)
• Viral incident: Plainclothes ICE agents detain a woman and her daughter at SFO.
  • Deemed unrelated but illustrates current climate.
• Senate efforts to restore DHS funding (excluding ICE) are rebuffed by Trump until he gets his “SAVE America Act” (voter restrictions, anti-trans measures).

3. The Escalating Iran Conflict and Energy Crisis

Timestamps: 22:30–38:32

• Overview: One month into the U.S.-Iran war, global oil markets are spiraling.
  • Gas prices soar ($7.50/gallon in CA; oil reaching $175+/barrel).
  • “Worst case” financial scenarios threaten U.S. and global economies.
• Trump administration is desperate for an “off ramp” but their offers (sanctions relief if Iran gives up nukes) are non-starters:
  • “At the time in which you’ve repeatedly killed all of the people running the country, you’ve kind of only made it clear that they need nukes.” — Robert Evans (23:16–24:00)
  • U.S. Navy escorts through the Strait of Hormuz are deemed too risky—potential for catastrophic losses.
  • Iranian forces are vastly underestimated by Trump officials, who treat them “like Venezuela’s army,” which isn’t the reality.
  • “There’s a lot of guys left who have a lot of experience in preparing for this exact war for a very long time.” — Unidentified Female Host (29:22)
• Iran’s leverage:
  • Strait of Hormuz closed; 17+ tankers already attacked.
  • Iran allows limited exceptions (ex: Thailand) but most of Asia is starved of energy.
  • Their negotiation asks: war reparations, proxy stand-downs, regional control of the Strait.
  • American “peace negotiations” are mostly to calm markets, not find real solutions.
  • 1,000-2,000 U.S. paratroopers deployed for possible operations, raising stakes further.

Global Fallout

• Collapsing economies in South/East Asia:
  • Companies, governments can't afford cooling; public holidays are declared to save energy.
  • Massive unemployment as industries shut (ex: 400,000 lost jobs in Indian ceramics).
  • “You’re starting to see just kind of these countries unravel because so much of their infrastructure is based on oil...” — Unidentified Female Host (36:38)
  • The U.S. quietly lifts sanctions for India to keep some Iranian oil flowing and avoid utter catastrophe.

4. DHS, ICE, and Hardline Deportation Rhetoric

Timestamps: 43:59–53:21

• Gregory Levino (ex-DHS commander) boasts to the NY Times he had a plan to deport 100 million people.
  • DHS even tweeted about this “goal” (almost ten times the number of undocumented people in the U.S.).
  • “I wish I’d caught even more illegal aliens… there’s always a creative and innovative solution to catching more.” — Levino (44:06)
  • Hosts note the plan both lacks logistical sense and is openly about white nationalist ambitions.
  • “If it sounds extreme, it’s because it’s nearly 10 times the estimated number of undocumented people in the country. It’s also more than a quarter of the entire US population.” — NYT report quoted by Sophie (44:13)
• The deportation rhetoric is revealed as both fantasy and a signal to far-right activism.
• Senate Republicans defend “ethnic cleansing” rhetoric, unable to challenge the factual implications.

5. New DHS Secretary: Markwayne Mullin

Timestamps: 49:00–53:21

• Former Senator Markwayne Mullin is sworn in as DHS secretary.
  • In confirmation hearings, he sort-of apologizes for inflammatory past comments.
  • “Is that the same as an apology?… Just speak like a person… Do we got to bring Mr. Rogers in here to tell you what an apology is?” — Robert Evans (49:58)
  • Mullin promises to keep DHS out of the headlines but is vague on real reforms.
  • Advocates for ICE to work “with local law enforcement,” blames sanctuary policies for ICE overreach.
  • Says ICE/CBP will have to obtain judicial warrants to enter homes, but leaves large exceptions.
  • Hosts note: Any small shift is the result of public pressure—ICE “should not exist as an agency.”
• Trump, at Mullin’s swearing in:
  • “Markwayne would be very much in favor of what I’m in favor of… he might be worse than me.” — Donald Trump (52:59)
  • The hosts note the surrealism of political actors reduced to caricatures and bad faith.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• AI Dystopia:
  • “All these goddamn platforms with their stupid AI features... I sound like the oldest person in the world.” — Mia Wong (03:16)
• ICE at Airports:
  • “Discovered the paperclip.” — Donald Trump analogy, satirized (11:41)
  • “ICE officers in Atlanta are not doing any screening functions. They are literally standing behind the officers...” — Heidrick Thomas (15:17)
• War & Oil:
  • “You are sending them [the Navy] through the chokiest of choke points. And Iran has spent 50 years preparing...” — Robert Evans (26:49–28:49)
  • “There are a shit ton of people in the world where it’s like—yeah, I know, like, 400,000 people are out of their jobs because their entire ceramics industry is gone.” — Unidentified Female Host (38:19)
• Deportation Fantasies:
  • “I wish I’d caught even more illegal aliens. I mean, we went as hard as we could, but there’s always a creative and innovative solution to catching more.” — Levino (44:06)
• Surreality of Trumpworld:
  • “Markwayne would be very much in favor of what I’m in favor of. He might be worse. He might be worse than me.” — Donald Trump (52:59)
  • “These people are so bizarre. Like they can’t talk. They sound ridiculous. Nightmare.” — Mia Wong (53:24)

Important Timestamps (Content Sections Only)

• AI, Tech Frustrations & Sora news: 02:37–07:10
• ICE replaces TSA at airports, policy chaos: 09:36–19:23
• War with Iran, global oil/economic crisis: 22:30–38:32
• Levino/Deportation Fantasies & Ethnic Cleansing: 43:59–49:00
• New DHS Secretary and ICE reforms: 49:00–53:21

Tone & Takeaways

The episode is irreverent and darkly comic, but rigorously factual. The hosts pull no punches describing the dysfunction and dangers of the Trump White House, the tragicomic spectacle of ICE at airports, the hard limits of American power in Iran, and the grim possibilities should administration hardliners get their way. Listeners will come away with a clear sense of unfolding crises, and the capacity for even greater disaster as “collapse” continues to unfold.

Closing Thought:
Amid chaos, the hosts emphasize the importance of staying informed, organizing against authoritarian policies, and retaining some sense of gallows humor as the world changes—sometimes for the worse, but always with the possibility of resistance.