* Democratic governor takes action after days of unrest,

violence

* Clashes followed reports of unsafe, unsanitary

conditions

* Homeland security secretary calls moves 'win for law

and order'

By Steve Gorman and Maria Tsvetkova

May 29 (Reuters) - New Jersey's governor on Friday

ordered state police to assume control outside a migrant

detention center in Newark that has become a weeklong flashpoint

for clashes between protesters and federal Immigration and

Customs Enforcement agents.

Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said she was acting to

quell escalating tensions and episodes of violence outside

Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed jail operated by the private company

Geo Group ( GEO ) on behalf of ICE.

Sherrill, who has repeatedly called for the closure of

Delaney Hall, said the aim was to ensure both freedom of

assembly and public safety.

"I will not give ICE the pretext to expand operations in our

state," Sherrill told a press conference, joined by state

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and acting state police

Superintendent Jeanne Hengemuhle.

Other U.S. cities have experienced mass deployments of ICE

agents, with President Donald Trump claiming that federal

immigration officers needed reinforcements to safely do their

jobs.

State police moved in on Friday to set up "protected protest

zones" beyond the gates to give demonstrators safe places to

gather, and have established vehicle checkpoints to control

traffic flow, state police Lieutenant Colonel David Sierotowicz

told reporters.

"ICE agents and their partners have agreed to remove

themselves from the immediate area," he said.

Officials said that anti- and pro-ICE protesters would be

kept apart in separate assembly zones.

DHS CHIEF WELCOMES MOVES

In a message posted to social media on Friday, U.S. Homeland

Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cast the moves by New Jersey

officials as a "win for law and order" and thanked the governor

for "allowing New Jersey State Police to cooperate with us."

He added that Sherrill acted after days of "refusing to

allow state police to assist @ICEgov law enforcement against

violent anti-ICE rioters."

Protesters confronted by ICE agents have gathered daily

outside Delaney Hall since late last week, after immigrant

detainees contacted relatives and supporters to announce a labor

and hunger strike demanding their release and calling attention

to conditions they described as inhumane.

Among the complaints they listed were "food containing worms

in a state of decay," faulty ventilation, unsanitary bathrooms

and unchecked spread of influenza-like illness inside the

facility.

Mullin has denied the allegations, saying detainees are

provided with adequate calories and sanitation, but "it isn't a

Holiday Inn."

The facility has held more than 850 immigration detainees,

only about a 100 of whom had criminal convictions, according to

the Deportation Data Project, which gathers and analyzes U.S.

government figures.

Trump weighed in this week at a White House Cabinet meeting,

calling Delaney Hall "a nice facility" that is doing a great

job.

"These aren't protesters, these people are fake," he said,

alleging without evidence that people rallying outside the

detention center were being paid to protest.

ICE agents have periodically clashed with protesters, using

batons and pepper spray. Six protesters were arrested on

Wednesday, according to Mullin. U.S. Senator Andy Kim of New

Jersey, who came to support protesters, was pepper-sprayed at

the protest early this week.

Sherrill joined protesters on Memorial Day and attempted to

visit the facility, but ICE denied her access. Instead, she

listened to a detainee account on a phone call from outside.

Mullin called her attempt "nothing more than a political stunt."

"The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers,

sons and daughters, and members of our community," Sherrill said

in a statement. "In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law

and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity."

On Thursday, several officials of the New Jersey Health

Department visited Delaney Hall but were only allowed to inspect

food service and the kitchen. As of Friday, their findings have

yet to be released.