ICE agents are at airports. TSA agents aren't really sure why.

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report — ICE Agents at Airports, TSA Agents in Limbo

Date: March 25, 2026
Host: Sabri Benishour (in for David Brancaccio)
Duration: ~9 minutes

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Episode Overview

This concise episode highlights major overnight economic and business news, focusing on the ongoing government shutdown’s effect on airport security staff as ICE agents appear at airports to assist under-staffed, unpaid TSA. The episode also covers the controversy around prediction markets, updates to the U.S. tax code, and advice for last-minute tax filers, all presented in Marketplace Morning Report’s news-forward, factual style.

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Key Topics & Segment Breakdowns

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1. Government Shutdown Stalemate Impacts TSA, Brings ICE to Airports

[00:55 – 02:58]

Major Points:

• Shutdown Negotiations Stalled: Capitol Hill deadlock persists; GOP proposes funding DHS except for ICE enforcement, while Democrats demand more accountability such as unmasking ICE agents.
• TSA Working Without Pay: TSA agents have not been paid for over a month, causing mounting personal and financial strain.
• ICE Agents Deployed: ICE agents began appearing in airports to support security — but not even the TSA’s own unions know why.

Union Representatives’ Perspective:

• Unclear Roles for ICE: “They are literally standing behind the officers while they're checking documents and screening passengers or walking the queue line that cascades through the airport.”
  — Aaron Barker, AFGE Local President, Atlanta ([01:55])
• Insufficient Training: ICE agents are “not trained for TSA tasks,” especially operating x-rays, a job requiring 4–6 months’ training.
  — Johnny Jones, Secretary Treasurer, TSA Employees Union, DFW ([02:06])
• Tension & Hardship: “ICE agents are being paid… TSA agents aren't getting paychecks.” Many TSA agents struggle with child care, rent, and must take out short-term loans, as described by Shawn Rude, who represents workers in CA, AZ, NV.
• Morale at a Breaking Point: “You know, there's only so much that these people can take until there's a breaking point. And I think we're at that breaking point.”
  — Shawn Rude, Union President ([02:43–02:46])
• Consequences Imminent: If there's no Congressional deal, TSA faces a missed third paycheck.

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2. Spotlight: Prediction Markets Clampdown

[02:58 – 04:10]

Major Points:

• Congressional Scrutiny: Bipartisan bill aims to curb prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket from offering contracts that resemble sports betting.
• Industry Self-Regulation: Platforms try to self-police by banning bets from those with event influence.
• Business Ethics Insight:
  “No one wants to put their money into an entity where, you know, one person already knows the result of what's going to happen and you don't.”
  — John Holden, Professor of Business Law/Ethics, Indiana University ([03:33])
• Regulatory Pressure: CFTC is encouraging collaboration with sports leagues and monitors to keep markets fair and curb manipulation.

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3. 2025 Tax Code Changes & Filing Tips

[06:02 – 08:44]

Featured Guest: Lisa Green Lewis, CPA & TurboTax Tax Expert

Main Takeaways:

• New Deductions & Credits: “There’s deductions if you have a profession that earns qualified tips, if you work overtime, for people over 65, and for self-employed parents.”
  — Lisa Green Lewis ([06:33])
• Credit vs. Deduction: Credits are “a dollar for dollar reduction,” while deductions reduce taxable income, with actual savings based on your tax bracket.
  — ([07:03])
• Phased-Out Tax Benefits:
  • Personal exemption is gone.
  • Energy-efficient credits expired end of 2025.
  • Electric vehicle credit only for purchases by September 30, 2025.
• Essential Filing Advice: “First gather everything in one place—documents, forms like W2s, 1099s, receipts for deductions or credits—and don’t wait until the last minute.”
  — Lisa Green Lewis ([08:18])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ICE’s Airport Role:
  “They are literally standing behind the officers while they're checking documents and screening passengers or walking the queue line that cascades through the airport.”
  — Aaron Barker ([01:55])

• On Effectiveness & Training:
  “ICE agents wouldn't even know what to look for if they were running an X ray machine... it takes four to six months to train a TSA officer.”
  — Johnny Jones ([02:06])

• On Worker Fatigue:
  “You know, there's only so much that these people can take until there's a breaking point. And I think we're at that breaking point.”
  — Shawn Rude ([02:43])

• Prediction Market Integrity:
  “No one wants to put their money into an entity where, you know, one person already knows the result of what's going to happen and you don't.”
  — John Holden ([03:33])

• Essential Tax Tip:
  “Just don't wait until the last minute.”
  — Lisa Green Lewis ([08:18])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:55 — Opening news: TSA unpaid, ICE at airports, shutdown overview
• 01:34–02:48 — Union leaders discuss ICE presence, TSA agent stress, and airport security functionality
• 02:58 — Prediction (betting) markets and new federal scrutiny
• 03:33 — Ethics of prediction markets, integrity issues (John Holden)
• 06:02–08:44 — Tax code changes, deductions, credits, expert tips (Lisa Green Lewis)

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Summary Wrap-Up

This Marketplace Morning Report captures the confusion and pressure at U.S. airports caused by the government shutdown, the strange optics of ICE assisting at checkpoints, and union frustration over lack of clarity and pay for TSA staff. The episode shifts to regulatory drama in fast-growing prediction markets, and closes with advice on this year’s tax filing challenges, including new deductions, lost credits, and essential tips for last-minute filers.

For further resources, listeners are reminded they can hear more on prediction markets at marketplacetech.org.

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Transcript

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[Sabri Benishour]

negotiations to end the partial government shutdown and pay TSA agents have hit a wall From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishore in for David Brancaccio. There is a GOP proposal to fund all of the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE immigration enforcement and removal operations. But Democrats say they want reforms like requiring ICE agents to take off their masks. And that is where talks are at. Meanwhile, TSA agents have been working without pay for more than a month. ICE agents started arriving at airports on Monday to help with security lines. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genza reports on how all that is going.

[Union Representatives (Aaron Barker, Johnny Jones, Shawn Rude)]

DHS won't say exactly where the ICE agents were deployed or what exactly their duties are. At a press briefing yesterday, TSA agents represented by the American Federation of Government Employees said they're not sure why ICE agents have been sent to airports. Aaron Barker is the union's local president at Hartsfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta.

[Sabri Benishour]

They are literally standing behind the officers while they're checking documents and screening passengers or walking the queue line that cascades through the airport.

[Union Representatives (Aaron Barker, Johnny Jones, Shawn Rude)]

ICE agents wouldn't even know what to look for if they were running an X ray machine, according to Johnny Jones, secretary treasurer of the TSA Employees Union Local at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. He says it takes four to six months to train a TSA officer.

[Marketplace Host/Reporter]

We're trying to detect IDs, weapons and stuff of that nature.

[Union Representatives (Aaron Barker, Johnny Jones, Shawn Rude)]

The ICE agents are being paid through last summer's tax and spending bill. TSA agents aren't getting paychecks. Union reps say they're juggling child care, asking landlords for patients and taking out short term loans. Shawn Rude is president of a local with members in California Arizona and Nevada.

[Sabri Benishour]

You know, there's only so much that these people can take until there's a breaking point.

[Viking Advertiser]

And I think we're at that breaking point.

[Union Representatives (Aaron Barker, Johnny Jones, Shawn Rude)]

If Congress and the White House don't reach a deal this week, TSA agents will miss their third paycheck. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishour]

Congress has its eye on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. Senators introduced a bipartisan bill to stop them from offering what are basically sports bets. Meanwhile, the platforms are rushing to regulate themselves, coming up with new rules like you can't trade on contracts if you have influence over the event you are betting on. My colleague Megan McCarty Carino, host of

[John Holden / Megan McCarty Carino]

Marketplace Tech, has more despite the anything goes landscape, the industry does have a business incentive to avoid scandals, says John Holden, a professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University.

[Marketplace Host/Reporter]

No one wants to put their money into an entity where, you know, one person already knows the result of what's going to happen and you don't.

[John Holden / Megan McCarty Carino]

In its guidance this month, the CFTC encouraged prediction markets to coordinate more closely with speech, sports leagues and integrity monitors, and to avoid listing contracts that could be easily manipulated by the actions of a single person.

[Marketplace Host/Reporter]

You know, how much will the CFTC adapt to regulating products like this? More like how sportsbooks are regulated, because there's going to be mounting pressure on them to do so.

[Sabri Benishour]

You can hear the full [e-mail] or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Sabri Benishour]

If you or someone you know is suffering from still not having filed their taxes or We've got tips. There have been changes to the tax code and there are some things to look out for, including new deductions. Lisa Green Lewis is a CPA and tax expert over at TurboTax and joins us. Good morning.

[Lisa Green Lewis]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishour]

So the big tax and spending bill passed last summer brought some changes to the tax code. Are there any in there that your average non tax expert person might not know about that can help them?

[Lisa Green Lewis]

Two out of five Americans said they knew nothing about the tax law. But what they need to know there's deductions for if you have a profession that earns qualified tips. If you work overtime, there's deductions for people that are 65 and over or even if you have kids and are

[Sabri Benishour]

self employed, there's tax deductions and then there are tax credits. Can you explain the difference between those two?

[Lisa Green Lewis]

A credit is more valuable because it's a dollar for dollar reduction of the taxes you owe. So say you owed $1,000 and you had a credit of $1,000 that's going to wipe out everything you owe, a deduction that reduces your taxable income and then your tax savings is based on your tax rate.

[Sabri Benishour]

Are there any deductions or tax credits that went away?

[Lisa Green Lewis]

Yes. So one of them is the personal exemption and that was an exemption you would get for yourself as well as your kids. There's actually some credits that went away. So energy efficient credits, those expired at the end of December 31, 2025. And then also electric vehicles. If you didn't purchase an electric vehicle by September 30, 2025, you will not be able to get the electric vehicle credit any longer.

[Sabri Benishour]

Overall, what's your advice for people who want to make sure they're not leaving money on the table when they do their taxes this year?

[Lisa Green Lewis]

I would say, you know, you want to make sure that you first gather everything in one place so you don't leave anything out. Documents and forms that report your income, like W2 and 1099 and then also those receipts for deductible items or that are related to credits, you want to have them all together. And then I would say just don't wait until the last minute.

[Sabri Benishour]

Lisa Green Lewis, CPA and tax expert at TurboTax. Thank you so much.

[Lisa Green Lewis]

Thank you for having me.

[Sabri Benishour]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishour with the Marketplace Morning Report. From APM American Public Media.

[Reema Reis]

I'm Reema Reis. And this week on my podcast, this Is Uncomfortable, we're looking at the rise of prediction markets, where you can bet on everything from sports and pop culture to political headlines, a multi billion dollar industry that's growing at a time when more Americans are questioning the traditional paths to wealth.

[Lisa Green Lewis]

I feel like the kind of quote, unquote, American dream is sort of breaking down. Like, how could I possibly, you know, buy a home, be able to afford having a family?

[Reema Reis]

And then they're also going online and seeing people that are claiming to make

[Lisa Green Lewis]

all this money doing these alternative, you know, paths to wealth.

[Reema Reis]

Be sure to listen to this week's episode of this Is Uncomfortable on your favorite podcast.

[Marketplace Host/Reporter]

Applause.