BREAKING: Sound of Freedom hero Tim Ballard says he is considering a run for Romney’s Senate seat

Ballard made the remarks during an appearance on the Sean Spicer Show. "I keep getting phone calls from people," he said. He said it's easier for him to consider it now that Romney announced his decision to vacate the seat.

Prior to Romney's departure, Ballard said he "was very seriously considering it."

After the success of the film Sound of Freedom, Ballard's voice stood out on a landscape of critics of Biden's border policies. Having been a dHS agent who went after child traffickers and human smugglers, and then gone on to found a non-profit with the mission of rescuing children, Ballard has a unique insight into the consequences of failed border policies.

Speaking to Congress, Ballard was candid about his experiences and the culpability of the federal government.

"Our federal agents who work in the southern border are women and men of the highest integrity, dedication," Ballard said during the hearing.

He added that "despite the hard work and success" of agents on the ground, it is "vividly clear" that "US border security and broken US policy are feeding the growth of human trafficking in the United States."

"One way this is seen is the absence of physical barriers on our border," Ballard explained. "I have personally seen how ports of entry were responsible for helping rescue a child, catch a sexual predator and start a chain of events that rescue multiple children is abuse on the other hand, but I've spoken with survivors who are trafficked by cartels taking advantage of the miles and miles of unprotected US border."

He continued, "One case in particular, a young woman was brought across the border in an area where no barrier protection existed. Once in the US, she was sold and raped for money up to 30 to 40 times a day for five years before eventually escaping herself. She shared with me the tragic conclusion that had her captors been forced to attempt a crossing into our country at the port of entry just like the little boys in [Sound of Freedom], she would have had a better chance to rescue."

Later in the hearing, Ballard declared that "as a result of this administration's current policies, DHS and HHS have unwittingly become a child trafficking delivery service."

The lead character in Sound of Freedom, played by Jim Cavaziel, is based on Ballard. The film was released earlier this summer and has been a box office success.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.