Trusted with Homes, but Not with Citizen Rights: Notions of Deservingness and Productivity in Undocumented Migrants’ Struggle for Recognition

Undocumented migrant workers play a crucial role in the functioning of urban centers like Amsterdam, yet they remain politically and legally invisible due to their precarious status. This is also true for migrant domestic workers. In the Netherlands, the lack of legal recognition for domestic work as employment further compounds the precarious situation of these workers. This legal gap leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and without access to basic labor protections. The proposed paper aims to explore how an organized group of MDWs mobilizes the notion deservingness as a key strategy in their advocacy efforts. The research draws on initial exploratory interviews with members of a MDW union, observations, and document analysis to examine the strategies employed by these actors in their struggle for recognition. By situating this study within the broader literature on grassroots migrant struggles, the paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of the strategies marginalized groups use in challenging political and legal contexts. Simultaneously, the analysis exposes the inherent ambivalence in the notion of deservingness and how it intersects with discourses of productivity in a global city like Amsterdam that is embedded within an increasingly hostile national environment towards migrants.