The government remains committed to sending asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda and plans for future flights have begun, Priti Patel has told MPs.
"We will not be deterred from doing the right thing," the home secretary said.
The first flight was cancelled minutes before take-off after a late challenge by the European Court of Human Rights.
Labour's Yvette Cooper said the government knew there were "torture and trafficking victims" among those the government planned to put on the plane.
The shadow home secretary described the policy as a "shambles" and "shameful".
The Rwanda asylum plan, announced by the government in April, intends to take some asylum seekers who cross the Channel to the UK on a one-way ticket to Rwanda to claim asylum there instead. The government said the scheme would discourage others from crossing the Channel.
Up to seven people had been expected to be removed to Rwanda on the Boeing 767 on Tuesday evening.
But despite clearing UK courts, the flight was halted by a late intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Speaking in the Commons, Home Secretary Ms Patel defended the policy and said the court ruling was "disappointing and surprising".
"We believe that we are fully compliant with our domestic and international obligations, and preparations for our future flights and the next flights have already begun."
She said the government "will not be deterred from doing the right thing", adding: "We will not stand idly by and let organised crime gangs, who are despicable in their nature and their conduct, evil people, treat human beings as cargo."
"We will not accept that we have no right to control our borders", she said, explaining that the government had been reforming its systems to make them "firm" and "fair".
The flight had been due to take off at 22:30 BST from a military airport in Wiltshire on Tuesday, but a judgement from the ECHR in Strasbourg halting the deportation of one of the men arrived at just after 19:30.
The Strasbourg human rights court - which is not a European Union body but is part of the Council of Europe, which still has the UK as a member - said an Iraqi man known as KN faced "a real risk of irreversible harm" if he remained on the flight.
The court said he should not be sent to Rwanda until the full decision on whether the government's policy is legal is made by the Supreme Court, which is due in July.
Up to seven people had been expected to be moved to Rwanda on Tuesday evening
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is an international court that sits in Strasbourg in France and protects civil and political rights.
These rights were established in a treaty called the European Convention on Human Rights, drawn up in the aftermath of World War Two - largely written by British civil servants and lawyers.
The convention has nothing to do with the EU - so the UK remains part of it despite Brexit.
The British government is bound by ECHR rulings, including the injunction that prevented a passenger from boarding a flight to Rwanda.
The ECHR should not to be confused with the European Court of Justice - which is a separate court that settles disputes between EU members.
It's extremely rare for a country to withdraw from the ECHR's jurisdiction. Russia is set to leave following its invasion of Ukraine, Greece temporarily left following a military coup, while Belarus is not part of the Convention.
Some 444 migrants were detected trying to cross the English Channel in small boats on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence said.
This is the highest number in a single day for two months, since 562 were recorded attempting to cross the Channel on 14 April.
Speaking to MPs about the government's policy to pass asylum decisions to Rwanda, the shadow home secretary asked: "How shameful does that make us look around the world?"
"It is government by gimmick", said Ms Cooper.
It is "not a long term plan, it's a short term stunt", she told the Commons.
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