Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned another 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent offenses. Announcing the decision on Thursday (Dec. 12), the 46th president emphasized the need to “provide meaningful second chances.”

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Joe wrote in a White House press statement. “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for nonviolent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

According to the Biden administration, “These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”

Joe’s executive move marked the largest single-day act of clemency, with Barack Obama trailing behind him with 330. Per White House data, the Pennsylvania native’s pardoners included a 74-year-old U.S. Army veteran, 54-year-old healthcare worker, and several others convicted of nonviolent offenses. The Democratic leader also announced that he plans to “take more steps in the weeks ahead.”

He explained, “My administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances.”

Joe’s clemency efforts came weeks removed from his controversial decision to pardon his own son, Hunter Biden. In June, the 54-year-old was found guilty on several tax evasion and federal gun charges, the latter of which were related to unlawfully possessing a firearm as a drug user. As a result, he became the first child of a sitting U.S. president to face a criminal conviction.

“In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me, and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here,” Joe stated. “Enough is enough.”