According to Mae Ngai, American officials such as Everett F. Drumright and other individuals were able to exploit the fear of communism to influence immigration policies (Ngai 2004). Drumright claimed that the Chinese were smuggling communists to Americans as immigrants with false documents. Fear of communism gave Drumright the power he needed to deny passports and visas to immigrants, even though his charges were based on suspicion. This is one way the United States has provided a reason to keep immigrants, especially those from Europe and Asia, out of the United States.