Migrant labour has transformed local economies in many places, often helping to reverse long‐term decline. The emergence of new immigration destinations (NID) globally brings mixed opportunities for the individuals involved. This paper uses empirical evidence, focusing on the workplace, to show the performance, construction, and significance of migrant identity. By using social identity theory to examine what it means to be a ‘migrant’, it follows from Goffman's overarching concern with social interactions and his promotion of microanalysis as analytical lenses. The paper reveals the ambiguity of the label ‘migrant’. It shows how the external application or internal enactment of migrant identities bestows particular status that represents an asset or an obstacle to integration. It can mean ‘hard‐working’, ‘less deserving’, and ‘exploitable’, and it also denotes ‘lazy’ individuals. While some individuals assume the hard‐working and ‘exploitable’ migrant identity in certain circumstances because of the benefits that it brings, this status can also cause high levels of dissatisfaction and distress among migrants. The research shows how the creation of a migrant identity limits the structures and networks from which migrants may draw resources and in so doing curtails the possibilities for social change due to migration. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.