In just a few hours after his inauguration, sitting in the Oval Office, wearing a face covering, Biden said there was "no time to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face..."
The first order Biden signed was related to the coronavirus pandemic. He also signed an order re-entering the US into the Paris climate accord.
Other executive orders signed by Biden included:
• Ceasing work on Mexico's border wall.
• Lifting a travel ban on people from several predominantly Muslim countries.
• Reversing plans to exclude people in the country illegally from the 2020 census.
The US president also ordered his cabinet to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program known as DACA that has shielded hundreds of thousands of people who came to the US as children from deportation since it was introduced in 2012.
He has also extended temporary legal status to Liberians who fled civil war and the Ebola outbreak to June 2022.
The 78-year-old also unveiled an ambitious immigration bill that would give legal status and a path to citizenship to anyone in the United States before the start of 2021 — an estimated 11 million people — and reduce the time that family members must wait outside the United States before being given permanent residency.
In his first address to the nation, Biden called on Americans to overcome divisions, imploring for an end to this 'uncivil war that pits red against blue'.
Biden stressed that "without unity, there is no peace" while pledging that he would be honest with the country as it continues to confront difficulties, saying that leaders have an obligation "to defend the truth and defeat the lies."
He asked even those who did not vote for him to give him a chance. He said: "Hear me out as we move forward."
Although his predecessor Trump broke long-standing tradition by not attending Biden's inauguration, Trump did follow through on one practice — he left behind a letter for Biden.
Biden said Trump "wrote a very generous letter" but explained that he would not reveal its contents until he had a chance to speak with Trump.