However, there is at least one silver lining: the U.S. military managed to rescue thousands of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.

U.S. officials are tasked now with the responsibility of figuring out where to settle the swell of Afghan and Iraqi refugees coming to America under the Special Immigrant Visa program. To this end, the U.S. State Department has come up with a list of relocation areas for those who’ve opted to receive resettlement benefits.

Using criteria such as “reasonable cost of living, housing availability, supportive services, and welcoming communities with volunteers and resources,” federal authorities are recommending refugees settle in any of the following areas: Phoenix, Denver, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, St. Louis, the Raleigh-Durham area, Northern New Jersey, Las Vegas, Buffalo, Cleveland, Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Houston, and Salt Lake City.

You’ll note that not a single one of the 19 urban sprawls mentioned in the above is located in California, the most populous and third-largest state in the union.

Don’t even think about it, the State Department says.

“[S]ome cities in California are very expensive places to live, and it can be difficult to find reasonable housing and employment,” the State Department said in a warning to Afghan refugees . “Any resettlement benefits you receive may not comfortably cover the cost of living in these areas.”

The agency also cautions against relocating to Metro Washington, D.C., which, like California, has become prohibitively expensive. It’s also worth mentioning that New York City, once the staging area for most immigration to the U.S., didn’t make the cut either.

Speaking of things worth mentioning, federal officials actually recommend Baltimore as a resettlement point.

Baltimore, which ranks among the deadliest cities in the U.S. The city whose murder rate per every 100,000 is 58%. The city whose decades of violent crime and corruption have sparked a mass exodus, driving the city’s population to its lowest levels since Germany was ruled by a Kaiser. That Baltimore?

Recommending “Charm City” to unsuspecting refugees who narrowly escaped an active war zone seems positively cruel.

Lastly, is there a reason why the State Department’s resettlement recommendations include only densely populated urban areas and none of the much roomier and far, far more affordable suburban or even rural territories?

“That just seems wrong,” Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw ponders. “There are many suburban and even rural areas where the cost of living is significantly lower than even the most affordable cities and in many of them, there will be jobs available. Crime rates also tend to be lower.”

He adds, “Whatever resettlement funds the new immigrants are given through this program will probably go a lot further. So what’s with the prejudice against small-town America? Perhaps that’s something that the State Department could reflect on moving forward.”