U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he was commuting the sentences of more than 2,000 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes, cementing his legacy as the president who has issued the most individual pardons and commutations in U.S. history.

Biden said in a statement that commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people would help "even out" sentencing disparities.

"Today's clemency action provides relief to individuals serving lengthy prison sentences based on implausible distinctions between crack and powder cocaine and outdated drug offense sentencing enhancements," he said.

"This action is an important step toward righting historical wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after serving excessive time in prison," he added.

"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in American history," Biden said.

Last month, nearly two dozen congressional Democrats urged Biden to commute the sentences of people affected by sentencing disparities, arguing that tougher penalties for cocaine "disproportionally harm communities of color."

Over the past 15 years, two laws have dramatically changed sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine crimes.

The Fair Sentencing Act, signed into law in 2010, lowered statutory penalties for crack cocaine and eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for cocaine possession. The First Step Act became law in 2018, making it possible to apply reduced penalties for convictions of serious crimes committed before the 2010 law.

Biden last month commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 people in another sweeping clemency action. Subsequent commutations of the death sentences of 37 people left only a handful of people on federal death row.

President-elect Donald Trump issued 144 pardons and 94 commutations during his first term, according to the Department of Justice's pardon statistics. President Barack Obama issued 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations during his two terms.

Perhaps Biden's most controversial use of his pardon power was last month's pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. The move was severely criticized by Republicans and even some Democrats.

In a statement on Friday, Biden said he could take more clemency action before leaving office on Monday.

"I am proud of my clemency record and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons," he said.