Denver, Colorado - They call it a milestone: a memorandum of understanding between the United States, Colorado, and Mexico. The main target? Crimes committed against Mexicans who are in the US, both legally and illegally.

The memorandum, signed Monday by state Attorney General John Suthers, Colorado US Attorney John Walsh, and Mexican Consul General Carlos Bello, outlines a partnership between all three entities to encourage Mexicans to report crimes, while assuring them of protections against deportation if they do.

The directive doesn't change or add to any existing legal protections for immigrants to report crimes.

"Part of the problem is convincing Mexican nationals to come out of the shadow, if you will, to trust law enforcement, to report their victimization," Suthers said.

Fatima Garcia is with the Denver Center for Crime Victims, which specializes in their Spanish outreach program Mi Gente. She said victims who are not from this country are often scared to step forward if they are the victim of a crime.

"The biggest fear is being deported and being separated from their families, being separated from their children," Garcia said.

That is something the memorandum is seeking to assure those who are undocumented, by including greater outreach into Mexican communities in Colorado.

"If they come forward to report a crime, which we want them to do if they've been a victim, we want to assure them that our focus will always be on prosecuting the crime, not on trying to discern whether they should be deported," said US Attorney Walsh.

Still, those on the front lines of dealing with crime victims said it may take time to earn that confidence, but the time invested would be worth it.

"Not only will it help the victim, but it will also help society, it will help the crime levels," Garcia said.