The protests at Columbia University have helped to spark a greater US student movement to call attention to the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-led health ministry says that more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the conflict.
The BBC has found that there were nearly 140 campus protests or encampments in response to the war in Israel, which followed Hamas's 7 October attack that killed 1,200 people.
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The students are demanding that their schools divest from arms manufacturers as well as institutions and businesses affiliated with Israel. They also want schools to publicly disclose their institutional investments.
US lawmakers and officials have grown concerned that the demonstrations and encampments have led to a rise of antisemitic incidents and made campuses unsafe for Jewish students. That has led to increased pressure on university leaders to address the protests.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was scheduled to meet with a group of Jewish leaders on Friday, and he reportedly sent a letter to university officials that condemned "abhorrent" acts of antisemitism on campus.
"As the 2023-24 school year comes to a close, I remain incredibly concerned by the reports of anti-Semitic hate directed at students on some campuses," he wrote in the letter that was obtained by CNN.
Some universities have been able to end the pro-Palestinian protests peacefully. The University of Minnesota and Rutgers University announced on Thursday that they struck agreements with protesters to clear encampments.
In exchange, school administrations agreed to consider the students' divestment demands and make their investments publicly accessible.
But most protests have not ended as harmoniously, particularly in recent days.
Police cleared demonstrators from an encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Wednesday arresting about 200 people.
At Portland State University in Oregon on Thursday, authorities removed protesters from a library building and detained dozens of students.
Early on Friday morning, student organisers said that the NYPD put 50 protesters at New York University and the New School on prison busses, removing them from encampments in downtown Manhattan.
US President Joe Biden urged pro-Palestinian protesters on university campuses to uphold the rule of law.
"We are a civil society, and order must prevail," Mr Biden said Thursday at the White House, in his first direct remarks about the student demonstrations.
Protests also surfaced beyond US borders, in countries including Canada, Australia and France.
Police have said they are monitoring a growing encampment at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, after Quebec's premier called for it to be dismantled.
Pro-Palestinian protesters camped out at the University of Toronto were allowed to remain, as long as "activities remain peaceful", the university said.