The passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 also was a factor in Ecuadorian emigration. It provided legal status to undocumented immigrants who arrived prior to 1982. This provided nearly 17,000 Ecuadorian immigrants with legal residency status, which allowed for them to reside in the United States permanently. This became a major source of family-sponsored Ecuadorian migration to the country. Emigration again peaked in the political turmoil of 1996–97 and the national banking crisis of 1998–99. This turmoil placed seventy percent of Ecuadorians below the poverty line by 1997.