Contested desirability. The case of non-EU immigrant workers in low-paid sectors in Denmark.

This paper explores the dynamics surrounding the concept of desirability in in the recruitment of medium-low skilled workers from non-EU countries. While attracting highly skilled workers is a widely accepted practice, states’ actions aimed at attracting migrant workers in low-paid professions remains a contentious issue in the public and political arenas. Furthermore, the geographical dimension plays a pivotal role in determining the perceived desirability of immigrant workers. Hence, what are the factors that define immigrants’ desirability, and how do states legitimize their actions to attract workforce that is publicly unwanted? By reflecting on the factors that make and unmake ‘desirability’, this paper aims at contributing to the study of the dynamics driving immigration promotion policies for contested immigrant categories. It does so by taking the case of Denmark. Denmark is a paradigmatic case where highly skilled immigrants are publicly and politically accepted, while lower-skilled immigrants, especially from third countries, are considered unnecessary and problematic. Nevertheless, labour shortages in sectors like gastronomy, elderly care, or food processing have prompted the government to seek strategies for the active recruitment of non-EU workers. Given the currently ongoing debates on how to recruit foreign workforce, Denmark is an interesting case to analyse the dynamics behind the establishment of active recruitment policies. Drawing from 22 semi-structured interviews with policymakers and from policy documents, parliamentary debates and newspapers’ interviews, this paper analyses the strategies used by state’s actors to promote and legitimize the active recruitment of semi/medium-skilled workers in third countries. It also analyses the strategies adopted by actors opposing this development, in order to better understand how the notion of an immigrant group as desirable is constructed and deconstructed. The paper contribution is twofold: • By focusing on the active recruitment of medium/low-skilled immigrants from non-Western countries, it elaborates on the concept of desirable migrants, providing a nuanced perspective on how such a category is developed • By focusing on the Danish ongoing debate on how to ‘import’ a desirable workforce which is publicly contested, it investigates the discursive strategies adopted by political actors to support or block third-country nationals’ recruitment plans. Through these insights, the paper aims to deepen our understanding of the forces shaping immigration promotion policies for contested immigrant categories, shedding light on the intricate processes of (de)constructing the notion of a desirable immigrant group.