Students gathered in New York City's Washington Square to protest the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University student, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The New York protest, which included a sit-in at Columbia University and a march at Washington Square Park, was part of a larger movement with rallies planned in other cities, such as Chicago. Demonstrators called for Khalil's release and the removal of ICE from college campuses, emphasizing solidarity against oppression and advocating for changes in immigration enforcement policies in educational settings.