Carswell said that it was important to acknowledge that immigrants are "admirable" for travelling potentially thousands of miles for a better life, and that sensitivity was important when discussing immigration.
Mr Carswell supports leaving the EU, partly so Britain could reduce immigration by no longer being a part of a zone which allows the free movement of people.
He was speaking after Most Revd Justin Welby accused UKIP leader Nigel Farage (below) of "legitimising racism" and "inexcusable pandering to people's worries and prejudices", after he said Britain could see mass sex attacks against women like the ones which happened in the German city of Cologne on New Year's Eve if the country lets large numbers of migrants in.
Germany has let in more than one million migrants since the crisis began in 2015, and it is believed the majority of the sex attacks that occurred against women that night were mostly by men of North African or Middle Eastern origin.
Nigel Farage said in response that Archbishop Justin was "prepared to turn a blind eye" to what was going on in Germany, and that he should listen to the Catholic Archbishop of Germany who has condemned the attacks.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said in January weeks after the attacks happened that they "can in no way be tolerated" and described them as "deeply disturbing".
Speaking on the Today programme, Douglas Carswell said: "Every conversation about immigration needs to begin by acknowledging that people who're prepared to travel halfway across the continent or halfway around the planet in search of a better life for them and their families are doing something admirable - but we need to control it.
"I believe if you're going to talk about migration... you need to use the right tone."
